An inventory of forest relicts in the pastures of Southern Tibet (Xizang A.R., China)

Miehe, Georg; Miehe, Sabine; Will, Martin; Opgenoorth, Lars; Duo, La; Dorgeh, Tsering; Liu, Jianquan

doi:10.1007/s11258-007-9282-0

Cited by 75 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…georgei on the north-facing slope at treeline, and no seedlings of J. saltuaria were found at timberline. Junipers are especially well adapted to the south-facing slope's high insolation and extreme diurnal ranges of temperature (Winkler 2000, Miehe et al 2006, 2008. In mature forests, natural regeneration of Juniperus was usually satisfactory with numerous young seedlings under the sparse canopy of the forest (4000 to 5000 per ha), and it shared the same mortality rate as Abies spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial structure of alpine trees in Mountain Baima Xueshan on the southeast Tibetan Plateau

Zhang¹,

Zhang²,

Shaolin³

et al. 2009

Silva Fenn.

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Most of the trees at treeline on the Tibetan Plateau are endemic to the Plateau. Yet little is known about these species. The study focused on the population structure, spatial patterns and associations of the treeline species Abies forestii var. georgei and Juniperus saltuaria at treeline and timberline in Mountain Baima Xueshan on the southeast Tibetan Plateau. These species form monodominant communities on the north-and south-facing slopes, respectively. Stem density, DBH-distribution, distribution pattern of different tree size classes, and intraspecific spatial association between different tree size classes of both species were analyzed. Spatial structure varied between A. forestii var. georgei and J. saltuaria, and for the same species, the spatial structures were also different from timberline to treeline. Stem density, mean tree height and young individuals of A. forestii var. georgei were significantly higher than those of J. saltuaria. For the same species, they were different from timberline to treeline, i.e., stem density and mean tree height of both species became lower. Size classes of both species were mainly clustered either at treeline or at timberline but at different scales, and spatial patterns of young J. saltuaria were mainly dominated by random patterns. Clumps of trees created more favorable microenvironments in harsh environments at treeline and timberline. Most tree size classes showed positive intraspecific spatial associations, but positive associations between size classes of J. saltuaria were not as significant as those of A. forestii var. georgei. The south-facing slope was usually subjected to varying intensities of pastoralism. Livestock disturbance greatly changed the microhabitat and reduced the number of young individuals. The potential of trees to regenerate was greatly inhibited, while A. forestii var. georgei showed greater regeneration potential. Spatial structures of J. saltuaria were also modified by this kind of human impact.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The high mountains on the Tibetan Plateau support the highest treelines in the world, and most of the trees at treeline are species endemic to the Plateau (Sun and Zheng 1998, Miehe et al 2006, 2008. On the southeast Tibetan Plateau, different tree species form treelines on different slopes: Juniperus spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial structure of alpine trees in Mountain Baima Xueshan on the southeast Tibetan Plateau

Zhang¹,

Zhang²,

Shaolin³

et al. 2009

Silva Fenn.

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“…The forest on the TP fulfils a crucial hydrological function both in and beyond China. The trees were found at an elevation of up to 4,860 m (Miehe et al 2008). As shown in Fig.…”

Section: Deforestation and Afforestationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In Datong County, Qinghai Province, about 20 km 2 of man-made plant community is preserved after the launch of the Returning Farmland to Forest project in the 1980s (Yin et al 2004). Experimental reforestation trials on the southern slopes above Lhasa, the capital of TAR, shows that treeless areas between the current relicts were forested in the past and could become forested again if human interference were excluded (Miehe et al 2008). As the lack of fire wood is a severe limitation of rural economy in Southern TAR, it is necessary to introduce forest rehabilitation measures with indigenous forest species that do not depend on the decreasing supply of irrigation water (Miehe et al 2003).…”

Section: Deforestation and Afforestationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent land cover changes on the Tibetan Plateau: a review

2009

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This paper reviews the land cover changes on the Tibetan Plateau during the last 50 years partly caused by natural climate change and, more importantly, influenced by human activities. Recent warming trends on the plateau directly influence the permafrost and snow melting and will impact on the local ecosystem greatly. Human activities increased rapidly on the plateau during the last half century and have significant impacts on land use. Significant land cover changes on the Tibetan Plateau include permafrost and grassland degradation, urbanization, deforestation and desertification. These changes not only impact on local climate and environment, but also have important hydrological implications for the rivers which originate from the plateau. The most noticeable disasters include the flooding at the upper reaches of Yangtze River and droughts along the middle and lower reaches of Yellow River. Future possible land cover changes under future global climate warming are important but hard to assess due to the deficits of global climate model in this topographically complex area. Integrated investigation of climate and ecosystems, including human-beings, are highly recommended for future studies.

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“…The semiarid climate conditions generate an overall deficiency of moisture which considerably influences the elevational forest distribution and may even control the upper forest limit (Liang et al, 2012;Liu et al, 2013;Miehe et al, 2008). A specific relief position is combined with particular climate conditions such as temperature, precipitation, evaporation and insulation, which are similar at comparable sites in the surroundings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling forest lines and forest distribution patterns with remote-sensing data in a mountainous region of semiarid central Asia

Klinge¹,

Böhner

Erasmi³

2015

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Satellite images and digital elevation models provide an excellent database to analyze forest distribution patterns and forest limits in the mountain regions of semiarid central Asia on the regional scale. For the investigation area in the northern Tien Shan, a strong relationship between forest distribution and climate conditions could be found. Additionally areas of potential human impact on forested areas are identified at lower elevations near the edge of the mountains based on an analysis of the differences in climatic preconditions and the present occurrence of forest stands.The distribution of spruce (Picea schrenkiana) forests is hydrologically limited by a minimum annual precipitation of 250 mm and thermally by a minimum monthly mean temperature of 5 • C during the growing season. While the actual lower forest limit increases from 1600 m a.s.l. (above sea level) in the northwest to 2600 m a.s.l. in the southeast, the upper forest limit rises in the same direction from 1800 m a.s.l. to 2900 m a.s.l.. In accordance with the main wind directions, the steepest gradient of both forest lines and the greatest local vertical extent of the forest belt of 500 to 600 m to a maximum of 900 m occur at the northern and western mountain fronts.The forests in the investigation area are strongly restricted to north-facing slopes, which is a common feature in semiarid central Asia. Based on the presumption that variations in local climate conditions are a function of topography, the potential forest extent was analyzed with regard to the parameters slope, aspect, solar radiation input and elevation. All four parameters showed a strong relationship to forest distribution, yielding a total potential forest area that is 3.5 times larger than the present forest remains of 502 km 2 .

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An inventory of forest relicts in the pastures of Southern Tibet (Xizang A.R., China)

Cited by 75 publications

References 26 publications

Spatial structure of alpine trees in Mountain Baima Xueshan on the southeast Tibetan Plateau

Spatial structure of alpine trees in Mountain Baima Xueshan on the southeast Tibetan Plateau

Recent land cover changes on the Tibetan Plateau: a review

Modeling forest lines and forest distribution patterns with remote-sensing data in a mountainous region of semiarid central Asia

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