Effect of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway on vegetation abundance

Wang, Guangjun; Gillespie, Alan R.; Liang, Shihai; Mushkin, Amit; Wu, Qingbai

doi:10.1080/01431161.2015.1041179

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous studies revealed similar results and showed that a warmer and slightly wetter climate positively influences alpine vegetation growth in the QTEC (Chen et al 2014;Luo et al 2018b). However, very few studies have investigated the direct and indirect impacts of the QTR on the local alpine ecosystem (Wang et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased human pressures on the alpine ecosystem along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR) increased the links between inland China and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). The QTR accelerated surrounding tourism, boosted the local economy, and led to rapid development of livestock raising.To assess how distance from the railway and different regions have influenced the impact of the QTR on the alpine ecosystem, human footprint maps were produced to indicate human pressures, and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), an index of vegetation greenness, was used to characterize the growth of alpine vegetation.The construction and operation of the QTR have increased human pressures, while the establishment of nature reserves has effectively reduced human pressures. The QTR contributes significantly to the increased human pressures in the Tibetan region compared with the Qinghai region and exerts negative impacts on alpine vegetation.Although the warmer and wetter climate trend has proven beneficial in enhancing alpine vegetation greenness, the declining trend of alpine vegetation has been stronger in regions with more intensive human pressures, especially in the grazing areas and the tourist areas around Lhasa. These results suggest that the impact of the QTR on alpine vegetation in Tibet is greater than that in Qinghai and that the spatial extent of the indirect impact of the QTR in Tibet is confined to approximately 30 km from the railway. These results will provide guidance and a theoretical basis for the protection of the alpine environment on the QTP under intensified anthropogenic influence.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased human pressures on the alpine ecosystem along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As the first railway introduced to the Third Pole, the QTR has received considerable attention, with most research on the associated ecological and environmental issues [34][35][36][37][38], while accessibility and socioeconomic-related studies are rare. Only several initial qualitative studies on this theme can be found, which do not fully reflect the socioeconomic influences of the QTR.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway on Accessibility and Economic Linkage of the Third Pole

Gong

Deng

et al. 2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Constructing the Qinghai–Tibet Railway (QTR) was a landmark project and was beneficial to the sustainable development of the Third Pole. To understand the sustainable development of remote regions by the provision of railway, we studied the QTR’s impact on accessibilities and economic linkages for four cities in the Third Pole, Xining, Golmud, Nagqu, and Lhasa, and between these four cities and 29 capital cities in mid-eastern China. First, employing average shortest travel time (ASTT) and weighted average travel time (WATT) as indicators, we calculated the railway-based accessibilities for June 2006 and January 2013. Then, using a gravity model, railway-based economic linkages were determined. The results demonstrate that: (i) ASTT for Xining–Golmud decreased by 4.14 h from June 2006 to January 2013. Both ASTT and WATT indicated that the accessibilities of the four cities and between these four cities and 29 capital cities in mid-eastern China improved significantly, and the spatial disparity in accessibility for the four cities decreased, which increased the balance and sustainability of the transportation system; (ii) the average contribution rate of the QTR to improving economic linkages for six routes among the four cities was 25.29%, with the Xining–Nagqu and Nagqu–Lhasa linkages improving most significantly; (iii) the QTR strengthened economic linkages between the four cities and mid-eastern cities. Because of the QTR, the economic linkages between the four cities and 29 capital cities increased 27.58% on average. The spatial disparity in interurban economic linkages also decreased. Transporting products from Tibet should be promoted to strengthen the sustainability of economic growth.

show abstract

“…However, most of what we currently know about the role of transport infrastructure in facilitating invasions in the mountains across the globe comes from road ecology studies (Lázaro-Lobo & Ervin, 2019). The role of railways as conduits for plant invasions remains little investigated (but see Benedetti & Morelli, 2017;Hansen & Clevenger, 2005;Wang et al, 2015), and only a few studies have been conducted in the mountains (e.g. Becker et al, 2005;Deng et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A fundamental ecological consequence of railways, as with other kinds of linear transport corridors, is the suite of changes that occur in adjacent natural vegetation (Hansen & Clevenger, 2005;Pollock et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2015;Wiłkomirski et al, 2012). These transport infrastructures all result in large gains and losses of species, creating new interaction networks among the novel set of species that establish in that location (Dornelas et al, 2019;Lembrechts et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Railways redistribute plant species in mountain landscapes

Rashid

Haq

Lembrechts

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. The significant portion of global terrestrial biodiversity harboured in the mountains is under increasing threat from various anthropogenic impacts. Protecting fragile mountain ecosystems requires understanding how these human disturbances affect biodiversity. As roads and railways are extended further into mountain ecosystems, understanding the long-term impacts of this infrastructure on community composition and diversity gains urgency. 2. We used railway corridors constructed across the mountainous landscapes of the Kashmir Himalaya from 1994 to 2013 to study the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on species distributions and community dynamics. In 2014 and 2017, we collected vegetation data along 31 T-shaped transects laid perpendicular to the railway line, adopting the MIREN (Mountain Invasion Research Network) road survey methodology.3. Plant communities shifted significantly from 2014 to 2017, potentially because of an ongoing species redistribution after railway construction, driven mainly by declines in both native and non-native species richness, and an increasing abundance of a few non-native species, especially in areas away from the railway track.4. These patterns indicate an advancing succession, where initially-rare-pioneer species are replaced by increasingly dominant and often non-native competitors, and potentially suggest a trend towards delayed local extinctions after the disturbance event. Native and non-native species richness was negatively correlated with elevation, but that relationship diminished over time, with the abundance of non-natives significantly increasing at higher elevations. Synthesis and applications.Transport corridors seem to facilitate the spread of nonnative species to higher elevations, which has serious implications considering the warming mountain tops. Our results indicate that the plant communities next to railways do not reach equilibrium quickly after a disturbance. More than 10 years after railway establishment within Kashmir Himalaya, succession continued, and signs pointed towards a landscape increasingly dominated by non-native species.Our study indicates that the single disturbance event associated with constructing Kashmir Himalaya, located in the north-western side of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, is a mountainous valley bounded by the Pir Panjal range of Lesser Himalaya in the south and south-west, and the Zanskar range of the Greater Himalaya in the north and northeast (Dar & Khuroo, 2020). The climate of the region, marked railway in this Himalayan region had large and long-lasting effects on plant communities at and around this transport corridor and suggests the need for a longterm region-wide coordinated monitoring and management program.

show abstract

Effect of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway on vegetation abundance

Cited by 10 publications

References 27 publications

Increased human pressures on the alpine ecosystem along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Increased human pressures on the alpine ecosystem along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Impacts of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway on Accessibility and Economic Linkage of the Third Pole

Railways redistribute plant species in mountain landscapes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About