# Integrated reconstruction of January and July temperature series in the Sanjiangyuan region during the Holocene

**Authors:** Yan Wang, Guangchao Cao, Guangliang Hou, Jian Ni, Tao Huang, Li Yan, Jinrong Hu

PMC · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0337521 · PLOS One · 2026-01-20

## TL;DR

This study reconstructs temperature changes in the Sanjiangyuan region over the Holocene to better understand climate patterns and support ecological conservation.

## Contribution

The study introduces the first use of the DMFS model with fossil pollen data to reconstruct Holocene temperatures in the Sanjiangyuan region.

## Key findings

- Temperatures gradually increased from 12.5 to 6.0 ka BP, indicating a climatic improvement.
- Peak temperatures occurred between 6.0 and 4.0 ka BP, showing a warm and humid climate.
- Temperatures declined from 4.0 to 2.5 ka BP, leading to a cold and dry climate.

## Abstract

The Sanjiangyuan region, located in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP), is highly sensitive to global climate change. Reconstructing its Holocene January and July temperatures is crucial for studying climate change and guiding ecological conservation in alpine regions. Current research on paleoclimate changes in Sanjiangyuan region primarily focuses on small subregions, limiting holistic understanding of regional climate.This study utilizes fossil pollen data, for the first time, integrates the Dynamic Multi-proxy Fusion and Scaling(DMFS) model to reconstruct the Holocene January and July temperature change sequences, thereby exploring temperature variations in the Sanjiangyuan region during 12.5 ka BP. The results indicated:12.5-6.0 ka BP: Both January and July temperatures showed a gradual increase,marking climatic improvement. 6.0-4.0 ka BP, both January and July temperatures remained at high levels, despite their fluctuations. During this period, temperatures reached their peak, reflecting a warm, humid, and most hospitable climate.4.0-2.5 ka BP: Both January and July temperatures showed declining trends to varying degrees, the climate became cold and dry. Post 2.5 ka BP: Both January and July temperatures rebounded. Comparisons with other high-resolution environmental records from the QTP confirmed consistent trends and synchronic dry-wet events. This study contributed essential fossil pollen data and paleotemperature records to the Sanjiangyuan region. This will fill a critical gap in paleoclimate research for the Sanjiangyuan region and provide valuable insights for long-term paleoclimate studies.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** HTM (MESH:D020886)
- **Chemicals:** ice (MESH:D007053), charcoal (MESH:D002606), Al (MESH:D000535), AMS (-), Si (MESH:D012825), Fe (MESH:D007501), 14C (MESH:C000615234)
- **Species:** Pinus subgen. Pinus (diploxylon pines, subgenus) [taxon 139271], Artemisia (genus) [taxon 4219], Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Ephedra (jointfirs, genus) [taxon 3387], Picea (genus) [taxon 3328], Taraxacum (genus) [taxon 49743], conifers [taxon 3312]

## Full text

_Full body text omitted from this summary view._ Fetch the complete paper as Markdown: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12818609/full.md

## Figures

9 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12818609/full.md

## References

66 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12818609/full.md

---
Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12818609