Holocene environmental change at Lake Shudu, Yunnan Province, southwestern China

A Holocene palaeorecord from Lake Shudu, Yunnan Province, southwestern China is dominated by (1) a pronounced basin-wide sedimentary hiatus after ca. 7.2ákcaláyráBP, spanning some 4,000áyears and (2) significant changes in sediment source/supply and an increase in heavy metal influx coupled with a shift to more eutrophic lake conditions from ca. 0.9ákcaláyráBP, lasting ~300áyears. The hiatus is most likely a due to a significant and abrupt reduction in sedimentation rates, the driver of which is unclear; although it appears likely to have been climatically driven. The environmental changes captured in the Lake Shudu palaeorecord provide unambiguous evidence of late Holocene anthropogenic activity, most likely linked to mining activity.