The growth of the Tibetan Plateau throughout the past 66 million years has profoundly affected the Asian climate, but how this unparalleled orogenesis might have driven vegetation and plant diversity changes in eastern Asia is poorly understood. We approach this question by integrating modeling results and fossil data. We show that growth of north and northeastern Tibet affects vegetation and, crucially, plant diversity in eastern Asia by altering the monsoon system. This northern Tibetan orographic change induces a precipitation increase, especially in the dry (winter) season, resulting in a transition from deciduous broadleaf vegetation to evergreen broadleaf vegetation and plant diversity increases across southeastern Asia. Further quantifying the complexity of Tibetan orographic change is critical for understanding the finer details of Asian vegetation and plant diversity evolution.

Geological events are one of the critical factors that are responsible for the formation and development of regional flora. Major geological events are discussed in this article with an emphasis on their impacts on dominant elements of evergreen broad-leaved forests, as well as on relict and endemic elements of Chinese flora. Geological events contributing to the complex geological history of China include the Paloecene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the uplifting of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the formation and development of the monsoon climate, and the shifting of dry areas in China during the Cenozoic Era. As rich geological environments are the basis for forming and developing biodiversity, such biodiversity can be seen in the main elements of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, which have been presented in China since the Neogene, and include Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Magnoliaceae, Fabaceae and Hamamelidaceae. The morphological characteristics of these elements are comparable with modern taxa at the genus level. The monsoon climate in China, especially dry winters and springs, strongly impacts floristic patterns. Relict and endemic plants are concentrated in Central China where winter and spring are comparatively humid. Monsoon intensity and development are correlated with the height of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

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