Different response of vegetation to permafrost change in semi-arid and semi-humid regions in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The effects of the depth of the active layer of permafrost on aboveground vegetation in semi-arid and semi-humid regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were studied. The depth of active permafrost was measured and aboveground vegetation recorded. Differences in correspondence between permafrost depth and aboveground vegetation in semi-arid and semi-humid regions were analyzed. Vegetation cover and biomass were well correlated with permafrost depth in both semi-arid and semi-humid regions, but the correlation coefficient in the semi-arid region was larger than in the semi-humid region. With the increase in permafrost depth, vegetation cover and biomass decreased in both regions. Species richness and diversity decreased with increasing depth of permafrost in the semi-arid region. In the semi-humid region, these at first increased and then decreased as permafrost depth increased. It seems likely that vegetation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau will degenerate to different degrees due to permafrost depth increasing as a result of climatic warming. The influence would be especially remarkable in the semi-arid region.