Highest Treeline in the Northern Hemisphere Found in Southern Tibet

Miehe, Georg; Miehe, Sabine; Vogel, Jonas; Co, Sonam; Duo, La

doi:10.1659/mrd.0792

Cited by 159 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Moreover, the highest treelines in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres occur on the TP and in the Andes, respectively (Miehe et al, 2007;Hoch and Körner, 2005;Körner, 2012). Although the effect of the heat source on the general circulation and local climate in these two locations has been the focus of many studies for several decades (Flohn, 1953;Yeh, 1952;Rao and Erdogan, 1989;Vuille et al, 1999;Garreaud et al, 2009), the correlation between mass elevation effect and the treeline distribution has been neglected.…”

Section: Why Does the Highest Treeline In The Northernmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The TP has even evolved unique geographical and ecological patterns. In the southeast region, the Alpine treeline climbs upward to approximately 4600-4700 m (Troll 1973;Zheng and Li, 1990) and even higher (4900 m) on a few sunny slopes (Miehe et al, 2007), which represents the highest treeline in the Northern Hemisphere, extending approximately 1000 m higher than the treeline in the surrounding areas. This results from the so-called mass elevation effect of the TP (Holtmeier, 2003;Han et al, 2012) or Massenerhebungseffekt (De Quervain, 1904), which accounts for the observed tendencies in temperature-related parameters, such as treeline and snowline, to occur at higher elevations in the Central Alps compared to their outer regions (De Quervain, 1904;Schroeter, 1908).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The mass elevation effect of the Tibetan Plateau and its implications for Alpine treelines

Yao

Zhang

2014

Intl Journal of Climatology

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ABSTRACT:The immense and towering Tibetan Plateau (TP) acts as a heating source and shapes the climate of not only the Eurasian continent but also the entire world. The mass elevation effect of the TP was first observed in the 1950s; however, due to the scarcity of meteorological observation stations and limited climatic data, little information on the mass elevation effect of the plateau and its implications for the position of Alpine treelines in the southeastern part of the TP is quantitatively known. This paper compares monthly mean air temperature differences at elevations of 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500 and 6000 m between the main plateau, the Qilian Mts. in the northeastern corner of the plateau and the Sichuan Basin to the east of the plateau to quantify the mass elevation effect of the plateau. The TP air temperature data are retrieved from Terra moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature (LST), and the free-air temperatures over the westernmost Sichuan Basin are estimated using the measured lapse rate from Mt. Emei, which is located in the western portion of the Sichuan Basin. The results demonstrate the following important characteristics. (1) Owing to the mass elevation effect, air temperatures gradually increase from the eastern edge to the interior main TP. The monthly mean air temperature in the interior main plateau is approximately 2-7 ∘ C higher than in the surrounding mountains and adjacent lowland areas. At an elevation of 4500 m (corresponding to the mean altitude of the TP), the monthly mean temperature differences between the plateau and the Sichuan Basin range from 3.58 ∘ C (April) to 6.63 ∘ C (June); the monthly temperature differences between the plateau and the Qilian Mts. range from 1.6 ∘ C (July) to 7.7 ∘ C (March). (2) The mass elevation effect of the plateau pushes the 10 ∘ C isotherm upward in the warmest month and is indicative of a warmth index of 15 ∘ C month up to elevations of 4600-4700 m, which enables the treeline altitude in the interior TP 500-1000 m higher than along the eastern edge. Therefore, mass elevation effect contributes to the occurrence of the highest treeline in the Northern Hemisphere, which is present on the southeastern TP.KEY WORDS Tibetan Plateau; air temperature; treeline; mass elevation effect; warmth index; 10 ∘ C isotherm in the warmest month

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Section: Why Does the Highest Treeline In The Northernmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mass elevation effect of the Tibetan Plateau and its implications for Alpine treelines

Yao

Zhang

2014

Intl Journal of Climatology

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“…The world's highest alpine treelines are found on the Tibetan Plateau [15]. The diverse climatic types, the different tree species, and the low disturbance intensity of remote treeline sites on the Tibetan Plateau make this region an ideal place for treeline studies [12,[16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Coupling of Treeline Elevation and Temperature is Mediated by Non-Thermal Factors on the Tibetan Plateau

Wang

Liang²,

Sigdel³

et al. 2017

Forests

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Abstract:Little is known about the relationships between treeline elevation and climate at regional and local scales. It is compelling to fill this research gap with data from the Tibetan Plateau where some of the highest alpine treelines in the world are found. This research question partially results from the lack of in situ temperature data at treeline sites. Herein, treeline variables (e.g., elevation, topography, tree species) and temperature data were collected from published investigations performed during this decade on the Tibetan Plateau. Temperature conditions near treeline sites were estimated using global databases and these estimates were corrected by using in situ air temperature measurements. Correlation analyses and generalized linear models were used to evaluate the effects of different variables on treeline elevation including thermal (growing-season air temperatures) and non-thermal (latitude, longitude, elevation, tree species, precipitation, radiation) factors. The commonality analysis model was applied to explore how several variables (July mean temperature, elevation of mountain peak, latitude) were related to treeline elevation. July mean temperature was the most significant predictor of treeline elevation, explaining 55% of the variance in treeline elevation across the Tibetan Plateau, whereas latitude, tree species, and mountain elevation (mass-elevation effect) explained 30% of the variance in treeline elevation. After considering the multicollinearity among predictors, July mean temperature (largely due to the influence of minimum temperature) still showed the strongest association with treeline elevation. We conclude that the coupling of treeline elevation and July temperature at a regional scale is modulated by non-thermal factors probably acting at local scales. Our results contribute towards explaining the decoupling between climate warming and treeline dynamics.

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“…However, regional models are only effective regionally and cannot be applied to global scale. For example, according to the Malyshev (1993)'s Ural model, treelines near 30°N should be at 2950 m, but they are actually at 4800-4900 m in the southeast Tibetan Plateau (Schickhoff 2005;Miehe et al 2007). Körner (1998)'s global model roughly outlines the latitudinal pattern of treeline elevations at a global scale, but cannot accurately predict treeline elevation, because treeline elevation does not have strict correlation with latitude globally.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Körner (1998)'s global model roughly outlines the latitudinal pattern of treeline elevations at a global scale, but cannot accurately predict treeline elevation, because treeline elevation does not have strict correlation with latitude globally. As a matter of fact, treeline elevation can vary greatly at the same latitude, for example, it can rise from 3500 m (Zhong 1983) on the eastern slope of the Gongga Mountains in the eastern periphery of the Tibetan Plateau to 4900 m (Miehe et al 2007) in Baxoi County in the inner Tibetan Plateau at 30°N with a difference of as large as 1400 m. There is no doubt that some environmental factors unrelated to latitude must have reshaped the altitudinal distribution of global treelines (Körner 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of mass elevation effect to the altitudinal distribution of global treelines

Zhao

Zhang

et al. 2015

J. Mt. Sci.

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Highest Treeline in the Northern Hemisphere Found in Southern Tibet

Cited by 159 publications

References 14 publications

The mass elevation effect of the Tibetan Plateau and its implications for Alpine treelines

The mass elevation effect of the Tibetan Plateau and its implications for Alpine treelines

The Coupling of Treeline Elevation and Temperature is Mediated by Non-Thermal Factors on the Tibetan Plateau

Contribution of mass elevation effect to the altitudinal distribution of global treelines

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