Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiaofei Hu, Linfeng Wei, Qi Cheng, Xingqi Wu, Jian Ni
Summary: Climate change poses a threat to ecosystems and their function. This study investigates climate-smart planning for protected areas in the Tibetan Plateau under climate change scenarios. The results show that considering climate impacts in protected area planning can help minimize economic and climate costs but there is still a need to protect 58% of gap areas. Therefore, six adjustable areas in the eastern and southern Tibetan Plateau with complex ecological functions under future climate scenarios have been identified.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Siwen Zhao, Jie Zhang, Yibo Du, Ruipeng Ji, Miaomiao Niu
Summary: This study reveals significant correlations between summer rainfall in central Asia and the summer thermal distribution of the Tibetan Plateau and the Indian summer monsoon. The different modes of anomalous diabatic heating distribution contributed by the Tibetan Plateau and Indian summer monsoon affect the water vapor transport and ultimately the precipitation in central Asia. This research provides valuable insights for predicting summer precipitation in central Asia.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yajun Si, Fengmei Jin, Wuchao Yang, Zhi Li
Summary: Exploring climate change and teleconnection on the Tibetan Plateau is crucial for understanding global climate change. However, further research is needed due to limited observation data and inadequate consideration of multiple atmospheric circulation indices. In this study, a climate dataset for 1901-2017 was used to analyze precipitation and temperature, and multivariate wavelet coherence was employed to investigate the combined effects of various circulation indices. The results showed spatial and temporal variations in climate, with a general trend of increasing precipitation and temperature. Single and combined circulation indices had significant impacts on climate change, highlighting the importance of considering multiple factors.
STOCHASTIC ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND RISK ASSESSMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peijun Shi, Yanqiang Chen, Gangfeng Zhang, Haiping Tang, Zhi Chen, Deyong Yu, Jing Yang, Tao Ye, Jing'ai Wang, Shunlin Liang, Yonggui Ma, Jidong Wu, Peng Gong
Summary: Oxygen concentration varies significantly on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, showing strong spatial and seasonal differences compared to earlier studies. Summer oxygen levels are slightly higher than winter levels. Altitude, air temperature, and vegetation index have different relative contributions to oxygen concentration.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Xinjun He, Jianzhong Yan, Liang Emily Yang, Ya Wu, Hong Zhou
Summary: The increasing severity of climate change poses a significant challenge to the livelihoods of smallholders. This study examines how smallholders adapt to climate change under government interventions and provides recommendations for governments to better promote smallholder adaptation. The results show that smallholders mainly adopt four adaptation strategies while governments assist them through subsidies, training, credit, insurance, improved varieties, infrastructure development, and cooperatives. The study highlights the importance of natural capital indicators and government interventions in facilitating smallholder adaptation.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiang Zou, Shugui Hou, Shuangye Wu, Hongxi Pang, Ke Liu, Wangbin Zhang, Jinhai Yu, Jing Song, Renhui Huang, Yaping Liu
Summary: This study presents an analysis of the Zangser Kangri ice core, providing a record of ammonium and nitrate concentrations over the past millennium. The results show that the variation of nitrogen species in the ice core is mainly driven by dust activities and biogenic emissions. Furthermore, seasonal air mass backward trajectories and wind fields indicate that the transport of nitrogen species is influenced by the westerly and the South Asia summer monsoon.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
C. H. A. O. Zhang, X. I. A. O. J. I. N. G. Jia, A. N. M. I. N. Duan, D. U. E. Hu
Summary: The study investigates the interdecadal changes in the leading empirical orthogonal function (EOF) pattern of interannual variation in spring snow-cover extent (SCE) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) (SSC_TP). It finds that during the period 1970-89, the leading EOF pattern transforms from an east-west dipole to a monopole structure, and the negative Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) plays a role in this transformation. In contrast, during the period 1991-2020, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) is associated with the monopole pattern. The mechanisms behind these changes are further analyzed.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Jinchang Li, Qi Yao, Na Zhou, Feihong Li
Summary: The Tibetan Plateau experienced severe aeolian desertification during the mid- and late 20th century, but mitigation efforts have been made since 2000. The causes of aeolian desertification and its mitigation strategies are debated by scientists. Government ecological protection projects have played a key role in mitigating desertification in densely populated areas.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lun Li, Renhe Zhang, Min Wen, Junmei Lv
Summary: The Tibetan Plateau (TP) experiences increasing precipitation trends in the northern region but not in the southern region, which is attributed to the activities of Tibetan Plateau vortices (TPVs). The significant warming over the TP influences the genesis frequency of TPVs differently in the north and south, leading to distinct precipitation trends in the two regions.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Baifeng Ji, Qian Xiong, Panpan Xing, Penghui Qiu
Summary: This study analyzes the dynamic response characteristics of heliostats under hail impacting in the Tibetan Plateau of China through numerical simulation. The results show that the hail impacting position, size, elevation angle, and thickness of the heliostat have varying effects on its stress and displacement.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ying Li, Chenghao Wang, Ru Huang, Denghua Yan, Hui Peng, Shangbin Xiao
Summary: This study quantifies the contributions of oceanic moisture to precipitation in the Tibetan Plateau using historical data and moisture tracking. The results show that the absolute and relative contributions of oceanic moisture have opposite seasonal patterns, with the contribution from the Indian Ocean being overestimated. The relative contribution from the Indian Ocean is around 30% in the south TP and decreases to below 10% in the northernmost TP. The absolute oceanic contribution follows a spatial pattern consistent with long-term precipitation trends.
HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jinxia Cui, Yanding Wang, Tiancai Zhou, Lili Jiang, Qingwen Qi
Summary: This study investigated the effects of precipitation and temperature on NPP in alpine grassland areas on the Tibetan Plateau from 2001 to 2019. The results revealed that temperature had a greater impact on NPP in humid regions, while precipitation played a primary role in arid regions. The effects of climate on NPP fluctuated in arid regions but remained stable in humid regions over the study period. Temperature was found to be the main limiting factor for NPP, with a higher impact in humid regions. These findings improve our understanding of climate and ecological responses and can inform management practices.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Li Zhang, Lingyan Yan, Xiaojun Kou, Zhiyun Ouyang
Summary: This study explores the relationship between lakes and Tibetan antelopes in the vulnerable Tibetan Plateau. It found that areas with larger lakes and flatter terrain tend to have a higher population of Tibetan antelopes. Additionally, vegetation cover and plant diversity are higher near the lake compared to farther away. These findings suggest that lakes offer Tibetan antelopes a richer food supply and reduced predation risk. The study provides new perspectives for understanding the cross-ecosystem impacts of climate change.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ping Lu, Jiangping Han, Yonghong Yi, Tong Hao, Fujun Zhou, Xianglian Meng, Yinsheng Zhang, Rongxing Li
Summary: This study utilized InSAR technology to monitor the dynamic changes in permafrost in the Hoh Xil region on the Tibetan Plateau. The results show that the permafrost in this region is experiencing disturbances, which are closely related to changes in land surface temperature. Thawing permafrost has led to the formation and evolution of thermokarst landforms, such as retrogressive thaw slumps and thermokarst lakes.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tanguang Gao, Yulan Zhang, Shichang Kang, Benjamin W. Abbott, Xiaoming Wang, Tingjun Zhang, Shuhua Yi, Orjan Gustafsson
Summary: The rate of permafrost collapse is accelerating on the Tibetan Plateau, with the area of collapsed permafrost increasing by approximately a factor of 40 from 1969 to 2017, with 70% of the collapsed area forming since 2004. These widespread perturbations could trigger changes in local ecosystem state and amplify large-scale permafrost climate feedbacks.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Liyang Liu, Xiuzhi Chen, Philippe Ciais, Wenping Yuan, Fabienne Maignan, Jin Wu, Shilong Piao, Ying-Ping Wang, Jean-Pierre Wigneron, Lei Fan, Pierre Gentine, Xueqin Yang, Fanxi Gong, Hui Liu, Chen Wang, Xuli Tang, Hui Yang, Qing Ye, Bin He, Jiali Shang, Yongxian Su
Summary: Research shows that the impact of drought on forest canopies varies with canopy height, with taller tropical forests experiencing greater reductions in Ku-VOD during drought and larger increases in non-drought periods. Taller forests are more vulnerable to drought stress due to smaller xylem-transport safety margins. The variation in hydraulic transport based on canopy height should be considered in ecosystem models to improve predictions of tropical forest responses to drought.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zheng Fu, Philippe Ciais, I. Colin Prentice, Pierre Gentine, David Makowski, Ana Bastos, Xiangzhong Luo, Julia K. Green, Paul C. Stoy, Hui Yang, Tomohiro Hajima
Summary: Soil water content affects GPP differently from atmospheric dryness, with an increase in GPP with high soil water content but a decrease when below a threshold. Atmospheric dryness always negatively affects GPP. Earth System Models underestimate the effects of atmospheric dryness and soil water content on GPP.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yue Li, Paulo M. Brando, Douglas C. Morton, David M. Lawrence, Hui Yang, James T. Randerson
Summary: Deforestation-induced warming and drying could amplify carbon storage losses in tropical forests. Neglecting the climate feedback from surface biophysical changes may undervalue the importance of tropical forests in carbon accounting systems.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kailiang Yu, Philippe Ciais, Sonia Seneviratne, Zhihua Liu, Han Y. H. Chen, Jonathan Barichivich, Craig D. Allen, Hui Yang, Yuanyuan Huang, Ashley P. Ballantyne
Summary: In this study, the authors used broad-scale tree mortality data to estimate biomass loss, reducing uncertainty in projected forest net primary productivity. They found that tropical forest carbon sinks are weaker with climate change. By incorporating field-based mortality data, the uncertainty in projected net primary productivity and heterotrophic respiration was substantially reduced in tropical regions. The findings highlight the importance of using forest demographic data to empirically constrain forest carbon sink projections.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yidi Xu, Le Yu, Philippe Ciais, Wei Li, Maurizio Santoro, Hui Yang, Peng Gong
Summary: Oil palm expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia resulted in significant deforestation and forest biomass loss during 2001-2015, with large-scale plantations dominating the expansion area. However, after 2007, the encroachment of oil palm plantations from low to high biomass density forests by small-scale plantations became more evident. This study provides new data for policymakers to target strategies to restrict oil palm encroachment into carbon-rich regions and protected areas.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hui Yang, Philippe Ciais, Jean-Pierre Wigneron, Jerome Chave, Oliver Cartus, Xiuzhi Chen, Lei Fan, Julia K. Green, Yuanyuan Huang, Emilie Joetzjer, Heather Kay, David Makowski, Fabienne Maignan, Maurizio Santoro, Shengli Tao, Liyang Liu, Yitong Yao
Summary: The 2015/16 El Nino resulted in severe drought and record-breaking temperatures in the tropics. This study used satellite data to map the changes in above-ground biomass during the drought and subsequent years. The results showed that over 60% of the affected forests experienced a reduction in above-ground biomass, with only 40% fully recovering by the end of 2019. The study also identified the importance of factors such as soil water deficits, soil clay content, and forest structure in determining the magnitude of biomass loss and recovery.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hao Xu, Xu Lian, Ingrid J. Slette, Hui Yang, Yuan Zhang, Anping Chen, Shilong Piao
Summary: The study indicates that the lengthening of tropical dry seasons may be more severe in a warmer climate, especially when accounting for changes in ecosystem water demand.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wantong Li, Mirco Migliavacca, Matthias Forkel, Jasper M. C. Denissen, Markus Reichstein, Hui Yang, Gregory Duveiller, Ulrich Weber, Rene Orth
Summary: Vegetation sensitivity to soil moisture has been increasing in (semi)arid areas, but state-of-the-art land surface models fail to capture this trend. Decreased soil moisture availability and declining precipitation have led to global vegetation vulnerability and reduced carbon uptake.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dominic Fawcett, Stephen Sitch, Philippe Ciais, Jean Pierre Wigneron, Celso H. L. Silva-Junior, Viola Heinrich, Christelle Vancutsem, Frederic Achard, Ana Bastos, Hui Yang, Xiaojun Li, Clement Albergel, Pierre Friedlingstein, Luiz E. O. C. Aragao
Summary: Deforestation and degradation in the Amazon have led to significant losses in biomass carbon, outweighing the gains from regrowing forests. This study provides a pessimistic assessment of the Amazon's carbon balance and highlights the urgent need to address the rising deforestation and degradation, especially in the Brazilian Amazon.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hui Yang, Seth M. Munson, Chris Huntingford, Nuno Carvalhais, Alan K. Knapp, Xiangyi Li, Josep Penuelas, Jakob Zscheischler, Anping Chen
Summary: This study uses satellite data and tree-ring data to find that 70% of negative extreme anomalies in vegetation growth (NEGs) across the global land surface from 1981 to 2015 are attributed to five types of climate extremes and their combinations. The dominant climate extremes responsible for NEGs vary by region and biome. The findings have important implications for climate-specific disaster prevention and mitigation planning.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lei Fan, Jean-Pierre Wigneron, Philippe Ciais, Jerome Chave, Martin Brandt, Stephen Sitch, Chao Yue, Ana Bastos, Xin Li, Yuanwei Qin, Wenping Yuan, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Liudmila Mukhortova, Xiaojun Li, Xiangzhuo Liu, Mengjia Wang, Frederic Frappart, Xiangming Xiao, Jingming Chen, Mingguo Ma, Jianguang Wen, Xiuzhi Chen, Hui Yang, Dave van Wees, Rasmus Fensholt
Summary: Siberian forests have been considered an important carbon sink, but severe droughts and fire disturbances may have affected their carbon dynamics. Limited forest inventories have led to uncertainties in the carbon balance. This study analyzed microwave observations from 2010 to 2019 and found that the carbon balance of Siberian forests was close to neutral, with a small carbon sink. Fire and drought caused significant losses of live above-ground carbon, contrasting with the greening trends in leaf area index. This highlights the vulnerability of large forest carbon stores in Siberia to climate-induced disturbances.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marcos Fernandez-Martinez, Josep Penuelas, Frederic Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Michael Obersteiner, Christian Roedenbeck, Jordi Sardans, Sara Vicca, Hui Yang, Stephen Sitch, Pierre Friedlingstein, Vivek K. Arora, Daniel S. Goll, Atul K. Jain, Danica L. Lombardozzi, Patrick C. McGuire, Ivan A. Janssens
Summary: Global net land carbon uptake or net biome production (NBP) has increased during recent decades. Here, researchers investigated the trends and controls of net terrestrial carbon uptake and its temporal variability and autocorrelation from 1981 to 2018. They found that annual NBP and its interdecadal variability increased globally, while temporal autocorrelation decreased. Climate change, especially increasing temperature and its variability, appeared to be the most important drivers of declining and increasingly variable NBP.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiangyi Li, Shilong Piao, Chris Huntingford, Josep Penuelas, Hui Yang, Hao Xu, Anping Chen, Pierre Friedlingstein, Trevor F. Keenan, Stephen Sitch, Xuhui Wang, Jakob Zscheischler, Miguel D. Mahecha
Summary: This study presents a globally applicable framework for identifying drought thresholds for vegetation responses to different levels of soil-moisture deficits. The identified thresholds represent critical inflection points for changing vegetation responses to drought stress and serve as a warning signal for substantial vegetation impacts. The results have implications for assessing the response of land ecosystems to climate change and variability.
NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Hui Yang, Philippe Ciais, Frederic Frappart, Xiaojun Li, Martin Brandt, Rasmus Fensholt, Lei Fan, Sassan Saatchi, Simon Besnard, Zhu Deng, Simon Bowring, Jean-Pierre Wigneron
Summary: Changes in terrestrial carbon storage under environmental and land-use changes are crucial for regional and global carbon budgets. This study used L-band microwave vegetation optical depth to generate global maps of annual live vegetation biomass, and found that boreal and temperate forests contribute the most to the global carbon sink, while wet tropical forests serve as small carbon sources. Additionally, the study revealed that tropical deforested and degraded old-growth forests are nearly carbon neutral, while young and middle-aged forests in temperate and boreal regions are the largest sinks.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Philippe Ciais, Ana Bastos, Frederic Chevallier, Ronny Lauerwald, Ben Poulter, Pep Canadell, Gustaf Hugelius, Robert B. Jackson, Atul Jain, Matthew Jones, Masayuki Kondo, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Prabir K. Patra, Wouter Peters, Julia Pongratz, A. M. Roxana Petrescu, Shilong Piao, Chunjing Qiu, Celso Von Randow, Pierre Regnier, Marielle Saunois, Robert Scholes, Anatoly Shvidenko, Hanqin Tian, Hui Yang, Xuhui Wang, Bo Zheng
Summary: Regional land carbon budgets provide insights into the spatial distribution of carbon uptake and can be used to evaluate carbon cycle models. This study updates regional carbon budgets for the past two decades using the international initiative RECCAP-2. It provides recommendations for matching atmospheric inversion results with carbon accounting and models, and defines the different component fluxes that should be reported.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2022)