Natural ecosystem response and recovery after the 8.2 ka cold event: Evidence from slope sediments on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

•Pollen and grains in the NE Tibetan Plateau recorded the 8.2 ka cold event.•Most serious natural ecological degradation occurred at ca. 8.3–8.0 ka.•Many steppes suffered immediate and obvious reduction at 8.2 ka.•Most higher-order plants took ∼1.5 ka to recover to the normal level.

On the Tibetan Plateau, mountain slope sediments provide a sensitive record of the 8.2 ka cold event and suggest possible strategies for restoration of grasslands degraded by human activities. Based on a grain-size study of slope sediments of the KE section on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, climate changes at 8.3–8.0 ka evidenced by a high content of coarse grains are connected with the 8.2 ka cold event. The compiled records of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs show that, during this event, most plant species suffered serious setbacks characterized by an immediate and obvious reduction of pollen and spore production, and it took ∼1.5 ka (from 8.0 to 6.5 ka) to recover to normal levels, occurring at different rates for different taxa.