Climate and cultural evolution drove Holocene cropland change in the Huai River Valley, China
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: As an important way of maximizing land productivity by growing more than one crop type in the same field, mixed cropping has been an effective option for sustaining population growth under different climatic conditions since prehistoric period. We used a combination of archaeological data and an improved prehistoric land use model (PLUM) to quantitatively reconstruct spatiotemporal changes in cropland types and areas in the Huai River Valley of China, a core region of mixed cropping during the Holocene. The total cropland area increased more than 25 times during 8-2 ka BP, with northward expansion of rice-dominated cultivation during 5-4 ka BP and southward expansion of dry-dominated cultivation after 4 ka BP. Temperature and precipitation determined cropland types distribution, while that of cropland area was controlled by cultural development. The interplay between past climate, culture, and cultivation potentially provides useful insights into mitigating future population pressures with climate change.
Source: iScience
Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Griffith University, The University of Queensland, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, University of Science and Technology of China, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Zero hunger, Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,150
OpenAlex ID: W4402305361