Lijiang Area Research Articles

Magnetotelluric evidence for the crustal deformation beneath the region around the Lijiang-Xiaojinhe fault, SE margin of the Tibetan Plateau

• Crustal electrical structures reveal the deformation in the SE Tibetan Plateau. • High conductor C3 results in the geothermal activities in the Lugu Lake region. • Ninglang fault has a high potential for large earthquakes. • Ductile flow has been moving from SW to NE at the Lijiang-Xiaojinhe fault. We used data from 62 broadband magnetotelluric (MT) stations along two NNW - SSE profiles cross sections around the Lijiang - Xiaojinhe fault (LXF) using 3-D inversion. This is a crucial area where the long-wavelength topography can be used to identify motions of the ductile flow beneath the eastern Tibetan Plateau to the Yangtze platform. The results indicate that there are two high conductors (1–10 Ωm) beneath the LXF zone. One of the conductors is at a depth of approximately 15–35 km with a length of 40 km in the southwest profile, whereas the other is at a depth of approximately 10–20 km with a length of 20 km in the northeast profile. These results indicate that the conductors along the LXF zone become shallower and smaller from the SW to NE. Based on the framework of the material escape to the east of the Tibetan Plateau and the strike-slip polarity of the active faults, we propose a new geodynamic model for the study area. The high conductors probably originated northwest of the Lijiang area. After crossing the LXF, part of the mid-crustal ductile material moved to the NE between the LXF and Ninglang fault. Therefore, the LXF presents significant left-lateral strike-slip deformation, and the Ninglang fault presents right-lateral strike-slip deformation. In addition, with the thermal springs exposed in the subsurface of the Lugu Lake region, we suggest that a potential geothermal field could be developed underneath the LXF and NW sides of the Lugu Lake region.

Market survey on the traditional medicine of the Lijiang area in Yunnan Province, China

BackgroundTraditional markets are important trading places for medicinal plants, and researchers performing market surveys often engage in ethnobotanical research to record the herbal plants used locally and any related traditional knowledge. However, information on market-traded medicinal plants from traditional markets in the Lijiang area of Yunnan is not well documented. This research is an ethnobotanical survey focusing on medicinal plants traded in the traditional markets of the Lijiang area and contributes to the understanding of medicinal plants and related information used by the Naxi people.MethodsEthnobotanical surveys were performed for two years (2019–2020). Three traditional markets in the Lijiang area were investigated. The methods we used included literature research, participatory surveys and group discussions. The collected voucher specimens were identified using the botanical taxonomy method and were deposited in the herbarium. The data were analysed through the informant consensus factor and use frequency (UF). These medicinal plants were compared with the Information System of Chinese Rare and Endangered Plants from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Those results were in turn compared with the Dongba Sutras and Yulong Ben Cao.ResultsA total of 277 species from 97 families were recorded, with Asteraceae providing the maximum numbers of medicinal plants. Among them, 248 species (89%) were wild plants and 266 species (92.39%) were from the local area. Root (40.43%) was the most common medicinal part. A total of 267 species (96.04%) had a UF value above 0.5. Eighty-three investigated human ailments were grouped into 16 categories. Diseases of the digestive system (166 mentions) were most frequently mentioned in this study. There were 19 species of nationally protected plants in China, including 2 species of first-level nationally protected plants and 17 species of second-level nationally protected plants. A total of 31 species of these medicinal plants can be found in the Dongba Sutra or Yulong Ben Cao.ConclusionWe surveyed the herbal medicine in the markets covering the Lijiang area, analysing and revealing the resource composition and current market situations. The medicinal plants used by the Naxi people are diverse and are used to treat a wide spectrum of body disorders. There are many wild medicinal plants, and to ensure sustainable development, their natural protection should be strengthened. Knowledge of the medicinal plants recorded in Naxi medical classics has ethnobotanical value and should be further developed.

Study on forest fire danger prediction in plateau mountainous forest area

Due to the complex vegetation and topography conditioning the plateau mountainous area, forest fire is difficult to put out in this area once it occurred. The research on forest fire danger prediction is very significant for fire prevention and fire fighting in plateau mountain area. Based on fire dataset from 1997 to 2018 in Lijiang area, this paper applied the spatial overlay analysis, Kriging interpolation analysis and Logistic regression model to study the relationship between forest fire occurrence and elevation, vegetation types and meteorological factors. An optimal Logistic model was selected to predict the probability of forest fire occurrence and fire danger rating in Lijiang area. The results showed that elevation, slope, aspect, daily average temperature and daily average relative humidity were significantly correlated with forest fire occurrence. The prediction accuracy of the Logistic model is averagely 86.9%. According to the results of fire danger prediction, forest fires in Lijiang occurred mainly concentrated in the north of Yulong county, the south of Ninglang county and the central area of Huaping county. The results are of great significance for forest fire prevention in Lijiang area.

Study on the Associative Character of Dongba Script in Lijiang Area

Dongba script, which is in the early stages of writing, is an important pic-tograph, and the study of Dongba script helps to study the origin and de-velopment of writing. Through long-time researching on Dongba scripture in Lijiang area, we find that associative character in Dongba script is special. This article researches on the associative characters in Dongba script.

Study on the Dongba Script Compound Glyph in Lijiang Area

Dongba scripture is an important hieroglyphs, and the study of dongba script helps to study the origin and development of writing. Through Lijiang dongba scripture, we find there are many compound glyphs. Compound glyph refers to a combination of more than two glyphs or non-morphed components, which collectively represent a segment larger than the term. This article researchs on the compound glyph.

Study on the Variant Pictograph of Dongba Script in Lijiang Area

Dongba scripture is an important pictograph, and the study of dongba script helps to study the origin and development of writing. Through Lijiang dongba scripture, we find there is a special way to create new script by the change of the script’s shape, called variant pictographs. This article researches on the variant pictograph.

Study on the Pictograph of Dongba Script in Lijiang Area

Lijiang, located in the northwest of Yunnan province, is famous for its dongba script. Dongba script is an important pictograph, which is still in use in border area between Yunnan and Sichuan. This article researches on the pictograph of dongba script, and focuses on the classification of pictograph of dongba script. The study of dongba script helps to study the origin and development of script.

Tourism leads to wealth but increased vulnerability: a double-edged sword in Lijiang, South-West China

ABSTRACTTourism development in Lijiang, China, has helped lift many people out of poverty but has also led to increased pollution and water scarcity, which climate change is predicted to exacerbate. A shift towards tourism and cash crops has reduced the diversity of crops and livestock used by agrarian households. These effects are explored in two villages between 2008 and 2013 using a multi-method approach. It is found that local water governance does not follow any of the best practice principles outlined in the international literature. Improved water governance is urgently needed to reduce household vulnerability in the Lijiang area.

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal dietary plants used by the Naxi People in Lijiang Area, Northwest Yunnan, China.

BackgroundFood and herbal medicinal therapy is an important aspect of Chinese traditional culture and traditional Chinese medicine. The Naxi are indigenous residents of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, and the medicine of the Naxi integrates traditional Chinese, Tibetan, and Shamanic medicinal systems, however, little is known about the medicinal dietary plants used by the Naxi people, or their ethnobotanical knowledge. This is the first study to document the plant species used as medicinal dietary plants by the Naxi of the Lijiang area.MethodsEthnobotancial surveys were conducted with 89 informants (35 key informants) from 2012 to 2013. Three different Naxi villages were selected as the study sites. Literature research, participatory investigation, key informant interviews, and group discussions were conducted to document medicinal dietary plants and the parts used, habitat, preparation methods, and function of these plants. The fidelity level (FL) was used to determine the acceptance of these medicinal dietary plants. Voucher specimens were collected for taxonomic identification.ResultsSurveys at the study sites found that 41 ethnotaxa corresponded to 55 botanical taxa (species, varieties, or subspecies) belonging to 24 families and 41 genera. Overall, 60 % of documented plants belonged to seven botanical families. The most common families were Compositae (16.4 %) and Rosaceae (10.9 %). Roots (34.1 %) were the most common part used. Wild-gathered (68.3 %), semi-domesticated (17.1 %), and cultivated (14.6 %) were the most common habitats of medicinal dietary plants. Stewing plants with meat was the most common preparation and consumption method. The plants were used to treat 21 major health conditions; alleviating fatigue (42.8 %) was the most common. The maximum FL of 100 was found for 68.3 % of the medicinal dietary plantsConclusionsThe medicinal dietary plants used by the Naxi people are diverse and are used to treat a wide spectrum of body disorders. Further studies focusing on safety, detoxification, and nutritional value of the plants should be conducted to allow them to be used to improve health and prevent diseases in modern society.

Local scaling property of seismicity: an example of getting valuable information from complex hierarchical system

Abstract. In order to get valuable information about the scale invariance in the process of seismogeny of Lijiang M 7.0 earthquake, the scaling property of the interevent time series of the seismic sequences for Lijiang area in China were studied by using the method of the local scaling property, the generalised dimension spectrum, and the correlation dimension. It is found that there is a clear characteristic variation of local scaling property prior to Lijiang M 7.0 earthquake while there is no characteristic variation of the generalised dimension spectrum and the correlation dimension. The reason for producing this phenomenon is that the fractal seismic system is a complex hierarchical system. For such a system, searching for a relevant choice in application of the three methodologies is needed. Compared with the generalised dimension spectrum and mono-fractal dimension which focus on the global description of the scaling properties of fractal objects, the local scaling property emphasizes the local features, and can give the local information of the singularity of the fractal system, therefore, it is easier for us to get valuable information from complex hierarchical structure with this method.

DENDROCLIMATOLOGICAL STUDIES OF PICEA LIKIANGENSIS AND TSUGA DUMOSA IN LIJIANG, CHINA

Expansion of climate proxy records over space is needed for improving our knowledge of past climate variability. Here we report on a 112-year tree-ring chronology of Picea likiangensis (Franch.) E.Pritz. and a 165- year tree-ring chronology of Tsuga dumosa (D.Don) Eichler for the Lijiang area, northwestern Yunnan, China. Mean correlation coefficients of tree-ring width series among individual trees are 0.48 for P. likiangensis and 0.45 for T. dumosa, indicating a growth response to common environmental variability. Analysis of climate-growth relationships shows that the radial growth of P. likiangensis is mainly negatively correlated with temperature from December of the prior growth year to May of the growth year, and that of T. dumosa is mainly positively correlated with precipitation of January and May in the growth year. We further found that the chronology of T. dumosa can be used to reconstruct the May-June Palmer Drought Severity Index. The reconstruction shows that major wet periods occurred in the 1860s, 1910s and 1940s, and drought periods in 1892–1905, 1914–1924 and 1928–1938. The moisture condition of the late 20th century is characterized by a near-normal state from the 1950s to the 1970s and an increasing trend from 1982 to 2003.

Slip rate along the Lijiang-Ninglang fault zone estimated from repeating microearthquakes

Seismicity and slip rates along the Lijiang-Ninglang fault zone between 1999 and 2006 were investigated with the waveform data recorded by the Yunnan digital Seismic Network. The relocated seismicity by the double difference method clearly exhibits different features between the northern and southern segments. More than 76% earthquakes occurred in the southern segment of the fault near the Lijiang area. The relocated seismicity appears to reflect the crustal velocity structure of the study area. Using cross-correlation analysis, we identified a total of 92 doublets and 70 multiplets that show high waveform similarity. Most of these sequences are aperiodic with recurrence intervals varying from a few minutes to hundreds of days. Using two sequences that occurred regularly over the study period, we obtained a fault slip rate of approximately 5 mm/a at ∼23 km, in good agreement with geologic and surface GPS measurement.

Re–Os isotopic compositions of picrites from the Emeishan flood basalt province, China

Picrites from the Lijiang area, in the western part of the Emeishan flood basalt province, are considered to be one of the most important indicators of the Emeishan mantle plume, and may represent initial mantle plume activity. This paper presents the first Re–Os isotope data for picrites from the province. Eighteen geochemically well characterised samples, including 12 picrites and 6 basalts from two sections near Lijiang, have been analyzed for Os isotopes. The picrites from the two sections have overlapping Re and Os concentrations and initial Os isotopic compositions. They have higher Os concentrations (1.5–3 parts per billion), and slightly lower Re concentrations (< 0.07 ppb) than those from many other flood basalt provinces (FBPs) and ocean island picrites. The picrites have distinctly unradiogenic Os isotopes with γ Os( t) values ( t = 259 Ma) of − 0.9 to − 2.4, but the associated basalts have suprachondritic Os isotope compositions with γ Os( t) of 1.8 to 73.3, which overlap with published data for basalts from other localities in the province. The high γ Os( t) values of the basalts could be the result of crustal contamination, which is enabled by the low Os concentrations in the parental basalts. The low γ Os( t) values of the picrites are unusual in terms of plume-related magmatism. There is no clear evidence for recycled crustal material in the mantle source of the Emeishan picrites, or for a significant degree of interaction of the picrites with ancient subcontinental lithospheric mantle of the Yangtze craton. The low γ Os( t) values relative to many other plume-related picrites (from ocean islands or flood basalt provinces) indicate that there was no clear Os isotope evidence of involvement of the Earth's core or recycled crustal components in the formation of Emeishan flood basalt province.

Native gold and native copper grains enclosed by olivine phenocrysts in a picrite lava of the Emeishan large igneous province, SW China

A native gold bleb found in an olivine phenocryst in a picrite lava from the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP) may be the first documented case of the transport of gold as a distinct precious metal phase in a mantle-derived magma. Four picrite layers have been recognized in the lower part of the volcanic succession in the Lijiang area, in the western part of the ELIP. The native gold bleb was found enclosed in an olivine phenocryst in the second picritic layer of a basalt-picrite succession in the ELIP. The gold bleb is spheroidal, about 30 μm in diameter, consists of pure gold, and does not contain any other elements. In addition, native copper grains were also discovered in the serpentinized olivine phenocrysts, and native zinc and moissanite (SiC) were separated from an ~20 kg sample of picrite. The paragenesis of these minerals suggests that the primary magmas were S-unsaturated. The native gold and native copper grains are considered to be xenocrysts from the mantle, transported to shallow depths by a rising plume, and then captured by the picritic melts. The discovery of native gold and native copper grains provides direct evidence that the gold in the hydrothermal gold deposits and the native copper deposits in the ELIP lavas ultimately may be derived from a mantle plume.