Journal
ECOSPHERE
Volume 9, Issue 5, Pages -Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2233
Keywords
aboveground net primary production (ANPP); alpine grasslands; climate change; desertification; diversity; mountains; permafrost; plant height; production; synthesis; Tibetan Plateau; water availability
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [41571204, 91547203, 41271224, 41563005]
- Division Of Environmental Biology
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1414106] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The Tibetan Plateau has the largest expanse of high-elevation permafrost in the world, and it is experiencing climate warming that may jeopardize the functioning of its alpine ecosystems. Many studies have focused on the effects of climate warming on vegetation production and diversity on the Plateau, but their disparate results have hindered a comprehensive, regional understanding. From a synthesis of twelve warming experiments across the Plateau, we found that warming increased aboveground net primary production (ANPP) and vegetation height at sites with permafrost, but ANPP decreased with warming at non-permafrost sites. Aboveground net primary production responded more negatively to warming under drier conditions, due to both annual drought conditions and warming-induced soil moisture loss. Decreases in species diversity with warming were also larger at sites with permafrost. These results support the emerging understanding that water plays a central role in the functioning of cold environments and suggest that as ecosystems cross a threshold from permafrost to non-permafrost systems, ANPP will decrease across a greater proportion of the Tibetan Plateau. This study also highlights the future convergence of challenges from permafrost degradation and grassland desertification, requiring new collaborations among these currently distinct research and stakeholder groups.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available