Vegetation and environmental changes in tropical South America from the last glacial to the Holocene documented by multiple cave sediment proxies

Valdir F. Novello; Francisco W. Cruz; Michael M. McGlue; Corinne I. Wong; Brittany M. Ward; Mathias Vuille; Rudney A. Santos; Plinio Jaqueto; Luiz C.R. Pessenda; Tiago Atorre; Ligia M.A.L. Ribeiro; Ivo Karmann; Eline S. Barreto; Hai Cheng; R. Lawrence Edwards; Marcos S. Paula; Denis Scholz

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115717

Vegetation and environmental changes in tropical South America from the last glacial to the Holocene documented by multiple cave sediment proxies

Valdir F. Novello
, Francisco W. Cruz
, Michael M. McGlue
, Corinne I. Wong
, Brittany M. Ward
, Mathias Vuille
, Rudney A. Santos
, Plinio Jaqueto
, Luiz C.R. Pessenda
, Tiago Atorre
, Ligia M.A.L. Ribeiro
, Ivo Karmann
, Eline S. Barreto
, Hai Cheng
, R. Lawrence Edwards
, Marcos S. Paula
, Denis Scholz

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

50 Scopus citations

Abstract

δ¹⁸O values in speleothems have been utilized to document past changes in South American monsoon intensity. However, changes in regional vegetation and ecosystems have not been part of this discussion, and other cave proxies such as speleothem δ¹³C values, a useful proxy for vegetation reconstruction, have been neglected due to interpretive complexities. Here we report δ¹³C values and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in stalagmites, together with XRF-derived elemental chemistry, δ¹³C_org values and carbon content from a sedimentary profile from the same cave where the stalagmites were collected. In combination with a previously published δ¹⁸O record, this enables us to clarify climate and environmental shifts that occurred between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene in central South America. We show that vegetation was sparse during the last glacial period in spite of a previously inferred strong monsoon, and that changes in atmospheric pCO₂ combined with local hydrological and temperature feedbacks may have determined vegetation development during this time.

Original language	English
Article number	115717
Journal	Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Volume	524
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115717
State	Published - Oct 15 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.

Funding

We thank Alyne Barros and Osmar Antunes for their support during the stable isotope data acquisition at the University of São Paulo. We are grateful to ICMBio for permission to collect stalagmite samples. This work was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation ( FAPESP ) (grants 2016/00299-4 to I.K.; 2012/03942-4 , 2014/10095-1 , 2015/08351-2 , 2016/15807-5 , 2017/23687-2 and 2018/12285-3 fellowships to V.F.N.; 2016/24870-2 fellowship to P.J.; 2012/50260-6 , 2013/50297 and 2017/50085-3 PIRE NSF-FAPESP to F.W.C.), the US National Science Foundation (NSF) grants AGS-1303828 and OISE-1743738 to M.V., NSF-AGS 1602962 to C.I.W. and 1103403 to R.L.E. and H.C., as well as German Research Foundation grants SCHO 1274/9-1 and SCHO 1274/11-1 to D.S. We thank Bronwen S. Whitney for providing the pollen assemblage records. Thorough and constructive comments from two anonymous reviewers were very helpful to improve the manuscript. We thank Alyne Barros and Osmar Antunes for their support during the stable isotope data acquisition at the University of S?o Paulo. We are grateful to ICMBio for permission to collect stalagmite samples. This work was supported by the S?o Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (grants 2016/00299-4 to I.K.; 2012/03942-4, 2014/10095-1, 2015/08351-2, 2016/15807-5, 2017/23687-2 and 2018/12285-3 fellowships to V.F.N.; 2016/24870-2 fellowship to P.J.; 2012/50260-6, 2013/50297 and 2017/50085-3 PIRE NSF-FAPESP to F.W.C.), the US National Science Foundation (NSF) grants AGS-1303828 and OISE-1743738 to M.V. NSF-AGS 1602962 to C.I.W. and 1103403 to R.L.E. and H.C. as well as German Research Foundation grants SCHO 1274/9-1 and SCHO 1274/11-1 to D.S. We thank Bronwen S. Whitney for providing the pollen assemblage records. Thorough and constructive comments from two anonymous reviewers were very helpful to improve the manuscript.

Funders	Funder number
NSF-AGS
S?o Paulo Research Foundation
US National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program	AGS-1303828, OISE-1743738, 1602962, 1103403
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft	SCHO 1274/11-1, SCHO 1274/9-1
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo	2016/15807-5, 2017/23687-2, 2017/50085-3 PIRE NSF-FAPESP, 2016/24870-2, 2016/00299-4, 2015/08351-2, 2014/10095-1, 2018/12285-3, 2012/03942-4, 2012/50260-6, 2013/50297
Instituto Chico Mendes de ConservaÃ§Ã£o da Biodiversidade

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

cave sediments
isotopes
paleo-vegetation
paleoclimate
speleothems

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geophysics
Geochemistry and Petrology
Space and Planetary Science
Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115717

Cite this

Novello, V. F., Cruz, F. W., McGlue, M. M., Wong, C. I., Ward, B. M., Vuille, M., Santos, R. A., Jaqueto, P., Pessenda, L. C. R., Atorre, T., Ribeiro, L. M. A. L., Karmann, I., Barreto, E. S., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Paula, M. S., & Scholz, D. (2019). Vegetation and environmental changes in tropical South America from the last glacial to the Holocene documented by multiple cave sediment proxies. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 524, Article 115717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115717

@article{4e214a1ca143405f8951e20a0d1dda4a,

title = "Vegetation and environmental changes in tropical South America from the last glacial to the Holocene documented by multiple cave sediment proxies",

abstract = "δ18O values in speleothems have been utilized to document past changes in South American monsoon intensity. However, changes in regional vegetation and ecosystems have not been part of this discussion, and other cave proxies such as speleothem δ13C values, a useful proxy for vegetation reconstruction, have been neglected due to interpretive complexities. Here we report δ13C values and 87Sr/86Sr ratios in stalagmites, together with XRF-derived elemental chemistry, δ13Corg values and carbon content from a sedimentary profile from the same cave where the stalagmites were collected. In combination with a previously published δ18O record, this enables us to clarify climate and environmental shifts that occurred between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene in central South America. We show that vegetation was sparse during the last glacial period in spite of a previously inferred strong monsoon, and that changes in atmospheric pCO2 combined with local hydrological and temperature feedbacks may have determined vegetation development during this time.",

keywords = "cave sediments, isotopes, paleo-vegetation, paleoclimate, speleothems",

author = "Novello, \{Valdir F.\} and Cruz, \{Francisco W.\} and McGlue, \{Michael M.\} and Wong, \{Corinne I.\} and Ward, \{Brittany M.\} and Mathias Vuille and Santos, \{Rudney A.\} and Plinio Jaqueto and Pessenda, \{Luiz C.R.\} and Tiago Atorre and Ribeiro, \{Ligia M.A.L.\} and Ivo Karmann and Barreto, \{Eline S.\} and Hai Cheng and Edwards, \{R. Lawrence\} and Paula, \{Marcos S.\} and Denis Scholz",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier B.V.",

year = "2019",

month = oct,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115717",

language = "English",

volume = "524",

}

Novello, VF, Cruz, FW, McGlue, MM, Wong, CI, Ward, BM, Vuille, M, Santos, RA, Jaqueto, P, Pessenda, LCR, Atorre, T, Ribeiro, LMAL, Karmann, I, Barreto, ES, Cheng, H, Edwards, RL, Paula, MS & Scholz, D 2019, 'Vegetation and environmental changes in tropical South America from the last glacial to the Holocene documented by multiple cave sediment proxies', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 524, 115717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115717

TY - JOUR

T1 - Vegetation and environmental changes in tropical South America from the last glacial to the Holocene documented by multiple cave sediment proxies

AU - Novello, Valdir F.

AU - Cruz, Francisco W.

AU - McGlue, Michael M.

AU - Wong, Corinne I.

AU - Ward, Brittany M.

AU - Vuille, Mathias

AU - Santos, Rudney A.

AU - Jaqueto, Plinio

AU - Pessenda, Luiz C.R.

AU - Atorre, Tiago

AU - Ribeiro, Ligia M.A.L.

AU - Karmann, Ivo

AU - Barreto, Eline S.

AU - Cheng, Hai

AU - Edwards, R. Lawrence

AU - Paula, Marcos S.

AU - Scholz, Denis

PY - 2019/10/15

Y1 - 2019/10/15

N2 - δ18O values in speleothems have been utilized to document past changes in South American monsoon intensity. However, changes in regional vegetation and ecosystems have not been part of this discussion, and other cave proxies such as speleothem δ13C values, a useful proxy for vegetation reconstruction, have been neglected due to interpretive complexities. Here we report δ13C values and 87Sr/86Sr ratios in stalagmites, together with XRF-derived elemental chemistry, δ13Corg values and carbon content from a sedimentary profile from the same cave where the stalagmites were collected. In combination with a previously published δ18O record, this enables us to clarify climate and environmental shifts that occurred between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene in central South America. We show that vegetation was sparse during the last glacial period in spite of a previously inferred strong monsoon, and that changes in atmospheric pCO2 combined with local hydrological and temperature feedbacks may have determined vegetation development during this time.

AB - δ18O values in speleothems have been utilized to document past changes in South American monsoon intensity. However, changes in regional vegetation and ecosystems have not been part of this discussion, and other cave proxies such as speleothem δ13C values, a useful proxy for vegetation reconstruction, have been neglected due to interpretive complexities. Here we report δ13C values and 87Sr/86Sr ratios in stalagmites, together with XRF-derived elemental chemistry, δ13Corg values and carbon content from a sedimentary profile from the same cave where the stalagmites were collected. In combination with a previously published δ18O record, this enables us to clarify climate and environmental shifts that occurred between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene in central South America. We show that vegetation was sparse during the last glacial period in spite of a previously inferred strong monsoon, and that changes in atmospheric pCO2 combined with local hydrological and temperature feedbacks may have determined vegetation development during this time.

KW - cave sediments

KW - isotopes

KW - paleo-vegetation

KW - paleoclimate

KW - speleothems

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85070079771

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85070079771#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115717

DO - 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115717

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85070079771

SN - 0012-821X

VL - 524

JO - Earth and Planetary Science Letters

JF - Earth and Planetary Science Letters

M1 - 115717

ER -

Vegetation and environmental changes in tropical South America from the last glacial to the Holocene documented by multiple cave sediment proxies

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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