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Arid Land Geography ›› 2022, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (4): 1146-1154.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2021.492

• Earth Surface Process • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Pedogenesis process of residual parent material soil in the northeast Tibetan Plateau:Taking profile Ningxia in the north of Qinghai Lake as an example

XIE Liqian1,2(),E Chongyi1,2,3(),ZHAO Xia1,2,3,LI Ping1,2,ZHANG Jing1,2,SUN Manping1,2, Xianbaji1,2   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810001, Qinghai, China
    2. Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geography and Environmental Process, College of Geographical Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, Qinghai, China
    3. Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, People’s Government of Qinghai Province and Beijing Normal University, Xining 810008, Qinghai, China
  • Received:2021-10-24 Revised:2021-12-27 Online:2022-07-25 Published:2022-08-11
  • Contact: Chongyi E E-mail:xieliqian2020@163.com;echongyi@163.com

Abstract:

Residual parent materials are important in the Qinghai Lake area. However, research on the soil of plateau residual parent materials and age data are lacking at present, limiting the understanding of the evolution process of soils. Meanwhile, the study of residual parent soils (as important records of climate change) will strengthen the understanding of regional climate environment evolution. In this paper, a residual parent material profile was developed using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), and the soil development degree was studied using the chemical index of alteration, Rb/Sr ratio, total organic carbon, and silt/clay ratio. The fluvial and lacustrine sediments and aeolian loess in the Qinghai Lake area were compared to analyze their sources using the ratios of Zr/Nb, K2O/Al2O3, and TiO2/Al2O3. The results show the following: (1) OSL dating results show that the soil in the profile NX has developed since the early Holocene. The age of the parent material at the bottom is 10.02±0.79 ka, whereas the upper soil is concentrated at 9.71-8.67 ka. The development time of the soil parent material is basically consistent with the wind sand activity period in the Qinghai Lake Basin. The parent material of the profile NX is the product of dry and cold climates. (2) Through a comparative analysis of provenance, the parent material at the bottom of the profile NX is formed by the in situ weathering of parent rock, whereas the upper part is developed by aeolian dust aggradation. The pedogenesis pattern is a mixed type of residual parent material and aeolian dust deposition. (3) The whole profile is in a weak chemical stage and a weak soil development degree, coinciding with the low chemical weathering degree and weak soil development under the background of cold and dry climates in the northeastern part of Qinghai Tibet Plateau.

Key words: residual parent material, elemental geochemistry, pedogenesis process, the north of Qinghai Lake