Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jing Zhang, E. Chongyi, Fei Yang, XianBa Ji, Yunkun Shi, Liqian Xie
Summary: This study used the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating method to determine the formation time of Kobresia mattic epipedon (ME) on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (NE-QTP). The results showed that aeolian dust deposition was an important source of ME parent materials, and modern ME formation mainly occurred in the Late Holocene, taking an average of 0.9 ka to form a majority thickness of about 20 cm ME. The average deposition rate (DR) of MEs was 0.3 +/- 0.04 mm·a-1, and the mass deposition rate (MDR) was 346.3 +/- 45.9 g·m-2·a-1, which was similar to the flux of modern atmospheric fallen dust. Most MEs were formed by aeolian dust aggradation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bangjing Ding, Lian Feng, Sang Ba, Xiaoliang Jiang, Guihua Liu, Wenzhi Liu
Summary: We conducted a study to investigate the spatial pattern and driving mechanism of biodiversity along elevational gradients on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Our findings showed that the species and phylogenetic diversity of plants, bacteria, and fungi exhibited a significant elevational gradient, while no significant diversity changes were observed for denitrifiers, methanogens, and methanotrophs along the same altitude gradient. This suggests that elevation and temperature have a stronger influence on the diversity of plants, bacteria, and fungi compared to microbial functional groups.
Article
Geology
Guoqing Xia, Chihua Wu, Ahmed Mansour, Xin Jin, Haisheng Yi, Gaojie Li, Qiushuang Fan, Zhiqiang Shi, Julian B. Murton, Junling Pei, Juan Pedro Rodriguez-Lopez
Summary: Intermittent cryospheric processes occurred in the midlatitude Northern Hemisphere during the late Eocene and Eocene-Oligocene transition, as evidenced by the presence of frost marks, ice-rafted debris (IRD), and glendonites in the Lunpola Basin of the central Tibetan Plateau. These cryospheric deposits, dated to approximately 36.2-31.8 Ma, provide robust continental evidence for the influence of the global cold snap EOT-1 on already glacierized high-altitude mountains, resulting in the development of ice fields, ice caps, and valley glaciers with proglacial lake systems.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Huai Chen, Peijun Ju, Qiuan Zhu, Xingliang Xu, Ning Wu, Yongheng Gao, Xiaojuan Feng, Jianqing Tian, Shuli Niu, Yangjian Zhang, Changhui Peng, Yanfen Wang
Summary: The carbon and nitrogen cycling on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has been influenced by atmospheric warming, cryosphere thaw, and intensified human activities. Despite the complexity of these changes, they largely offset each other. The plateau is predicted to continue functioning as a net carbon sink in the future, despite severe permafrost degradation, while nitrogen stocks are expected to remain relatively stable.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jingran Zhang, Qian Liu, Linhai Yang, Hongyi Cheng, Yun Cai, Hao Long
Summary: This study used optically stimulated luminescence dating technique to investigate aeolian sediments in the southern bank of Qinghai Lake, providing a high-resolution chronology and grain-size distribution of Holocene aeolian activities in the region. The results suggest that the aeolian activities in the Qinghai Lake basin were influenced by both regional climatic conditions and fluctuations in the lake level of Qinghai Lake.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Yanfen Wang, Wangwang Lv, Kai Xue, Shiping Wang, Lirong Zhang, Ronghai Hu, Hong Zeng, Xingliang Xu, Yaoming Li, Lili Jiang, Yanbin Hao, Jianqing Du, Jianping Sun, Tsechoe Dorji, Shilong Piao, Changhui Wang, Caiyun Luo, Zhenhua Zhang, Xiaofeng Chang, Mingming Zhang, Yigang Hu, Tonghua Wu, Jinzhi Wang, Bowen Li, Peipei Liu, Yang Zhou, A. Wang, Shikui Dong, Xianzhou Zhang, Qingzhu Gao, Huakun Zhou, Miaogen Shen, Andreas Wilkes, Georg Miehe, Xinquan Zhao, Haishan Niu
Summary: This review examines the impacts of climate change and human activities on grasslands in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It discusses the changes in vegetation and soil, as well as the drivers behind these changes. The study finds that rising temperatures have been key in driving vegetation increases, while intense livestock grazing has caused grassland degradation. Effective restoration can be achieved through management policies and adaptive management, leading to improvements in net primary production.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Miaogen Shen, Shiping Wang, Nan Jiang, Jianping Sun, Ruyin Cao, Xiaofang Ling, Bo Fang, Lei Zhang, Lihao Zhang, Xiyan Xu, Wangwang Lv, Baolin Li, Qingling Sun, Fandong Meng, Yuhao Jiang, Tsechoe Dorji, Yongshuo Fu, Amy Iler, Yann Vitasse, Heidi Steltzer, Zhenming Ji, Wenwu Zhao, Shilong Piao, Bojie Fu
Summary: Warming temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are causing changes in vegetation phenology, with the start of the growing season advancing and the end of season delaying. These changes could impact land surface and atmospheric processes, species interactions, and regional climate patterns.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geology
Xiang-Fei Zhang, Wen-Chang Li, Rui Wang, Liang Zhang, Kun-Feng Qiu, Yu-Qin Wang
Summary: Thermochronology is an effective tool to study the uplift and exhumation history of ore deposits. This study focused on the Xiuwacu tungsten-molybdenite deposit in the Yidun Terrane, Eastern Tibetan Plateau, revealing a history of rapid cooling and subsequent gradual cooling of the deposit over millions of years. The study suggests there may be potential for discovering concealed orebodies at depth beneath the current mining level at Xiuwacu.
ORE GEOLOGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Naixin Cui, Tong Wu, Yi-Chen Wang, Huiting Zou, Jan Christoph Axmacher, Weiguo Sang, Luo Guo
Summary: This study focuses on the influence of Buddhist monasteries on land use/cover change (LUCC) in the Sanjiangyuan region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The findings show that the presence of monasteries is highly correlated with the preservation of natural ecosystems, particularly grasslands and forests. These results strongly support the role of Buddhist culture and its physical institutions in achieving desired landscape conservation outcomes.
Article
Microbiology
Yao-Dong Wu, Guo-Dong Dai, Li Li, D. Timothy J. Littlewood, John Asekhaen Ohiolei, Lin-Sheng Zhang, Ai-Min Guo, Yan-Tao Wu, Xing-Wei Ni, Nigus Abebe Shumuye, Wen-Hui Li, Nian-Zhang Zhang, Bao-Quan Fu, Yong Fu, Hong-Bin Yan, Wan-Zhong Jia
Summary: Cyclophyllidea is the most species-rich order of tapeworms, with significant health impact on wildlife, livestock, and humans. Through collection and sequencing of specimens from rodents in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, several putative new species were identified. Additionally, three known species were found, suggesting their wide distribution in western China. The divergence time estimates indicate a strong association between species differentiation and biogeographic changes resulting from the uplift of the QTP, supporting the hypothesis of host-parasite co-evolution.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Shasha Cui, Jian Ouyang, Yu Lu, Wenzhi Liu, Wenyang Li, Guihua Liu, Wen Zhou
Summary: Through studying the diversity and composition of wetland plant communities, it was found that latitude, mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, and edaphic properties are the main factors influencing plant diversity. In addition, ecological drift, weak dispersal, and weak selection also play a role in shaping the composition of wetland plant communities.
Article
Plant Sciences
Xiaomei Kang, Jieyang Zhou, Abuman, Guozhen Du, Wei Qi
Summary: This study found that dispersal mode was the most important factor affecting seed mass variation in plants, while life form had a relatively small impact. Adaptation to local environments was identified as the second force driving species-level seed mass variation, with no relationship between thermal niche and seed mass. The results suggest that seed mass variation is influenced by dispersers, indicating that seeds may evolve in response to dispersers and local environments.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mu Xia, Kun Jia, Wenwu Zhao, Shiliang Liu, Xiangqin Wei, Bing Wang
Summary: This study utilizes an Ecological Vulnerability Index (EVI) and 17 indicators to analyze the ecological vulnerability threats faced by the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau over the past 15 years, with results indicating vegetation as the primary driver of ecological vulnerability. Significant variations in ecological vulnerability trends were observed between Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qiuan Zhu, Huai Chen, Changhui Peng, Jinxun Liu, Shilong Piao, Jin-Sheng He, Shiping Wang, Xinquan Zhao, Jiang Zhang, Xiuqin Fang, Jiaxin Jin, Qi-En Yang, Liliang Ren, Yanfen Wang
Summary: Intense grazing may lead to grassland degradation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Current grazing activity in the region is mostly sustainable, with the stocking rate below the threshold in about 80% of grassland areas. Positive effects of climate change can partly offset negative effects of grazing, but only in areas below the stocking rate threshold. Keeping the stocking rate within 50% to 70% of the threshold can balance human demands with grassland protection in the face of climate change.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Qian Qian, Junbang Wang, Xiujuan Zhang, Shaoqiang Wang, Yingnian Li, Qinxue Wang, Alan E. Watson, Xinquan Zhao
Summary: This paper assesses the possibility of achieving established targets for the proportion of cultivated to available grassland in the Three-River Headwaters Region in China. It finds that in order to reach income targets in 2025, 5% of grasslands need to be cultivated, but achieving income targets in 2035 will become very difficult.
