Recently, the editorial office of Science Bulletin (Chinese and English editions) announced the results of its selection of Outstanding Papers in the field of Earth and Environmental Sciences for 2025. A total of 10 outstanding papers were selected, including two papers from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems under the Ministry of Education, China, and the Center for Environmental Archaeology and Heritage Science at Lanzhou University (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Award Ceremony for the 2025 Outstanding Papers in Earth and Environmental Sciences published in Science Bulletin
One of the award-winning papers was jointly authored by Professor Ma Minmin and Professor Dong Guanghui in collaboration with researchers from Xiamen University, the Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Westlake University, University College London, and other institutions. Entitled "Forager-farmer transition at the crossroads of East and Southeast Asia 4900 years ago", the study provides an in-depth account, based on multidisciplinary evidence, of the transition in subsistence strategies from hunting and gathering to agriculture among prehistoric populations in central Yunnan, a key region connecting East and Southeast Asia. The study pushes back the introduction of millet to Yunnan to approximately 4,900 years ago, suggesting that millet may have first spread from central Yunnan to Southeast Asia. It also reveals distinct biological adaptations among ancient populations in Yunnan before and after the emergence of agriculture (Fig. 2).
Figure 2. Changes in the three-stage model of subsistence strategies at the Xingyi Site (left) and significant differences in metabolic and immune proteins before and after the emergence of agriculture (right)
Another award-winning paper was jointly conducted by Young Researcher Chen Jie, Academician Chen Fahu of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician Huang Jianping of Lanzhou University, Professor Zhang Qiong of Stockholm University, Sweden, and other researchers. Entitled "Reconciling East Asia's mid-Holocene temperature discrepancy through vegetation–climate feedback", the paper was published as a cover article in Science Bulletin. Focusing on the "Holocene temperature conundrum", the study employed the EC-Earth3 model in combination with paleoclimate reconstruction data to reveal that vegetation–climate feedbacks can substantially alter the temperature patterns of East Asia during the mid-Holocene and improve the agreement between model simulations and proxy records. The findings provide a new mechanistic explanation for discrepancies between Holocene model simulations and paleoclimate reconstructions (Fig. 3).
Figure 3. The cover article of Science Bulletin (left) and a schematic diagram illustrating the mechanisms by which vegetation–climate feedback regulates East Asian temperatures during the mid-Holocene (right)
Professor Ma Minmin and Young Researcher Chen Jie are also members of the Chen Fahu Silver-Age Research Studio. The two award-winning papers deepen our understanding of Holocene environmental change and human–environment relationships from the perspectives of agricultural dispersal and human adaptation, and climate–ecosystem interactions, respectively. They also demonstrate the positive outcomes achieved by relevant research platforms in promoting interdisciplinary integration among environmental archaeology, paleoclimate research, and Earth system science.
News Background: Science Bulletin is a comprehensive natural science journal under the supervision of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and jointly sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. It is published bimonthly by Science China Press in collaboration with Elsevier. Its latest Journal Impact Factor is 21.1, ranking sixth among 135 multidisciplinary journals worldwide, placing it in the Q1 quartile among international multidisciplinary journals. It is also a Top journal in Category 1 of theEmerging Journals Classificationand a Leading Journal under the China Excellence Action Plan for STM Journals.
