Permafrost and drought regulate vulnerability of Tibetan Plateau grasslands to warming

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.