Effects of Changed Asian Water Tower on Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem: A Review

Authors

DI Yangping, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China
ZHANG Yangjian, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center of Excellent in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
ZENG Hui, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China; College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
TANG Ze, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

Keywords

climate change; precipitation; Tibetan Plateau; phenology; community composition; water

Document Type

Article

Abstract

As the "water tower" of Asia, the Tibetan Plateau provides basic water resources for the regional ecosystems. Among the variety of water resources, natural precipitation is most relevant to ecosystems, and temperature also affects soil moisture availability by regulating evapotranspiration, thus affecting ecosystem process. From the aspects of community composition and structure, vegetation phenology, coverage and productivity, and water conservation function by ecosystems, this paper reviewed the series of impacts caused by changed water resources on the Tibetan Plateau ecosystems in recent years, and the underlying mechanism was further revealed. The shifted water conditions led to changes in community coverage, species diversity, and relative importance of each species, thereby driving community succession. The strengthened preseason precipitation advanced spring phenology, and postponed autumn phenology. The preseason precipitation also adjusted the responses of vegetation phenology to temperature. Under global changes, the vegetation coverage increased and ecosystem productivity strengthened on the Tibetan Plateau, but with high spatial heterogeneities. The incongruous changes of temperature and precipitation complicated their effects on vegetation, as exhibited by their distinct relative determination effects in different areas. Water conservation by ecosystems stems from interactions among soil-vegetation-atmosphere, which is influenced by climate, vegetation, soil, human activities, etc. The future studies need to pay mounting attentions to the coupling effects of climates and vegetation cover on water conservation of ecosystems, and also attribute the separate contribution from each factor.

First page

1322

Last Page

1331

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

References

段克勤, 姚檀栋, 王宁练, 等.青藏高原南北降水变化差异研究.冰川冻土, 2008, 30(5):726-732.

Gao Q Z, Guo Y, Xu H, et al. Climate change and its impacts on vegetation distribution and net primary productivity of the alpine ecosystem in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Science of the Total Environment, 2016, 554-555:34-41.

Yang H J, Wu M Y, Liu W X, et al. Community structure and composition in response to climate change in a temperate steppe. Global Change Biology, 2015, 17(1):452-465.

Yang Z, Zhang Q, Su F, et al. Daytime warming lowers community temporal stability by reducing the abundance of dominant, stable species. Global Change Biology, 2017, 23(1):154-163.

Ma Z, Yuan, Liu H Y, Mi Z R, et al. Climate warming reduces the temporal stability of plant community biomass production. Nature Communications, 2017, 8(8):15378.

李军祥, 张扬建, 朱军涛, 等.藏北高山嵩草草甸群落特征及生产力对模拟增温幅度的响应.生态学报, 2019, 39(2):474-485.

Gough L, Osenberg C W, Gross K L, et al. Fertilization effects on species density and primary productivity in herbaceous plant communities. Oikos, 2000, 89(3):428-439.

杨元合, 朴世龙.青藏高原草地植被覆盖变化及其与气候因子的关系.植物生态学报, 2006, 30(1):1-8.

李长斌, 彭云峰, 赵殿智, 等.降水变化和氮素添加对青藏高原高寒草原群落结构和物种多样性的影响.水土保持研究, 2016, 23(6):185-191.

Xu Z W, Wan S Q, Ren H Y, et al. Effects of water and nitrogen addition on species turnover in temperate grasslands in northern China. PLoS One, 2012, 7(6):e39762.

周国逸, 闫俊华.鼎湖山区域大气降水特征和物质元素输入对森林生态系统存在和发育的影响.生态学报, 2001, 12(12):2002-2012.

武建双, 李晓佳, 沈振西.藏北高寒草地样带物种多样性沿降水梯度的分布格局.草业学报, 2012, 21(3):17-25.

杨兆平, 欧阳华, 宋明华, 等.青藏高原多年冻土区高寒植被物种多样性和地上生物量.生态学杂志, 2010, 29(4):617-623.

Robertson T R, Zak J C, Tissue D T. Precipitation magnitude and timing differentially affect species richness and plant density in the sotol grassland of the Chihuahuan Desert. Oecologia, 2010, 162(1):185-197.

Bradley N L, Leopold A C, Ross J, et al. Phenological changes reflect climate change in Wisconsin. PNAS, 1999, 96(17):9701-9704.

Chen X Q, An S, Inouye D W, et al. Temperature and snowfall trigger alpine vegetation green-up on the world's roof. Global Change Biology, 2015, 21(10):3635-3646.

Parmesan C, Yohe G. A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change impacts across natural systems. Nature, 2003, 421(6918):37-42.

刘瑶杰.青藏高原草地对气候变化的响应及对近地面气候的反馈.北京:中国科学院大学, 2018.

Piao S L, Cui M D, Chen A P, et al. Altitude and temperature dependence of change in the spring vegetation green-up date from 1982 to 2006 in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Agricultural & Forest Meteorology, 2011, 151(12):1599-1608.

Ding M J, Li L H, Zhang Y L, et al. Start of vegetation growing season on the Tibetan Plateau inferred from multiple methods based on GIMMS and SPOT NDVI data. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2015, 25(2):131-148.

Milwaukee K. Plant development models//Phenology:An Integrative Environmental Science. Dordrecht:Springer, 1999.

Shen M G, Piao S L, Dorji T, et al. Plant phenological responses to climate change on the Tibetan Plateau:Research status and challenges. National Science Review, 2015, 2(4):454-467.

Shen M G, Piao S L, Cong N, et al. Precipitation impacts on vegetation spring phenology on the Tibetan Plateau. Global Change Biology, 2015, 21(10):3647-3656.

Liu Q, Fu Y H, Zeng Z, et al. Temperature, precipitation, and insolation effects on autumn vegetation phenology in temperate China. Global Change Biology, 2016, 22(2):644-655.

Che M L, Chen B Z, Innes J L, et al. Spatial and temporal variations in the end date of the vegetation growing season throughout the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from 1982 to 2011. Agricultural & Forest Meteorology, 2014, 189-190(189):81-90.

Cong N, Shen M G, Yang W, et al. Varying responses of vegetation activity to climate changes on the Tibetan Plateau grassland. International Journal of Biometeorology, 2017, 61(8):1433-1444.

卓嘎, 陈思蓉, 周兵.青藏高原植被覆盖时空变化及其对气候因子的响应.生态学报, 2018, 38(9):3208-3218.

Jian S, Qin X, Yang J. The response of vegetation dynamics of the different alpine grassland types to temperature and precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment, 2016, 188(1):1-11.

Jian T, Zhang Y, Dong J, et al. Elevation-dependent relationships between climate change and grassland vegetation variation across the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. International Journal of Climatology, 2015, 35(7):1638-1647.

张镱锂, 祁威, 周才平, 等.青藏高原高寒草地净初级生产力(NPP)时空分异.地理学报, 2014, 68(2):1197-1211.

Chen B X, Zhang X Z, Tao J, et al. The impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on alpine grassland over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Agricultural & Forest Meteorology, 2014, 189-190(189):11-18.

Molnar P, Boos W R, Battisti D S. Orographic controls on climate and paleoclimate of Asia:thermal and mechanical roles for the Tibetan Plateau. Annual Review of Earth & Planetary Sciences, 2010, 38(1):77-102.

Piao S L, Tan K, Nan H J, et al. Impacts of climate and CO ₂ changes on the vegetation growth and carbon balance of Qinghai-Tibetan grasslands over the past five decades. Global & Planetary Change, 2012, 98-99(6):73-80.

李英年, 赵新全, 曹广民, 等.海北高寒草甸生态系统定位站气候、植被生产力背景的分析.高原气象, 2004, 23(4):558-567.

Yang Y H, Fang J Y, Ji C J, et al. Above- and belowground biomass allocation in Tibetan grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science, 2009, 20(1):177-184.

张宪洲, 石培礼, 刘允芬, 等.青藏高原高寒草原生态系统土壤CO ₂排放及其碳平衡.中国科学:地球科学, 2004, 34(s2):193-199.

聂忆黄, 龚斌, 衣学文.青藏高原水源涵养能力评估.水土保持研究, 2009, 16(5):210-212.

李士美, 谢高地.草甸生态系统水源涵养服务功能的时空异质性.中国草地学报, 2015, 37(2):88-93.

尹云鹤, 吴绍洪, 李华友, 等. SRES情景下青藏高原生态功能保护区水源涵养功能的变化研究.资源科学, 2013, 35(10):2003-2010.

孙永寿, 段水强, 李燕, 等.近年来青海三江源区河川径流变化特征及趋势分析.水资源与水工程学报, 2015, (1):52-57.

尹云鹤, 吴绍洪, 赵东升, 等.过去30年气候变化对黄河源区水源涵养量的影响.地理研究, 2016, 35(1):49-57.

张岩, 张建军, 张艳得, 等.三江源区径流长期变化趋势对降水响应的空间差异.环境科学研究, 2017, 30(1):40-50.

Abouabdillah A, White M, Arnold J G, et al. Evaluation of soil and water conservation measures in a semi-arid river basin in Tunisia using SWAT. Soil Use and Management, 2015, 30(4):539-549.

Yang X, Jia Z, Ci L. Assessing effects of afforestation projects in China. Nature, 2010, 466(7304):315.

Li J, Liu D, Wang T, et al. Grassland restoration reduces water yield in the headstream region of Yangtze River. Scientific Reports, 2017, 7(1):2162.

Shen M G, Piao S L, Jeong S-J, et al. Evaporative cooling over the Tibetan Plateau induced by vegetation growth. PNAS, 2015, 112(30):9299-9304.

Liu J, Xu X, Shao Q. Grassland degradation in the "ThreeRiver Headwaters" region, Qinghai Province. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2008, 18(3):259-273.

Recommended Citation

Yangping, DI; Yangjian, ZHANG; Hui, ZENG; and Ze, TANG (2019) "Effects of Changed Asian Water Tower on Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem: A Review," Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version): Vol. 34 : Iss. 11 , Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.16418/j.issn.1000-3045.2019.11.015
Available at: https://bulletinofcas.researchcommons.org/journal/vol34/iss11/13