No slope exposure effect on alpine treeline position in the Three Parallel Rivers Region, SW China

Wang, Wenli; Körner, Christian; Zhang, Zhiming; Wu, Ruidong; Geng, Yupeng; Shi, Wen; Ou, Xiaokun

doi:10.1007/s00035-013-0118-3

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Consistent with the finding of Wang et al (2013) that slope has no effect on the tree line in alpine habitats, slope had no noticeable effects on the models for all of the five tree species in the +E models (mean PC = 6.07%). In contrast, slope substantially influenced the models for the tree species in the −E models (mean PC = 16.95%).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…All of these typically interact with solar radiation to influence the seasonal energy balance in the mountains (Uhlmann et al, 2009;López-Moreno et al, 2014). Since snowfall accounts for the greatest proportion of precipitation in mountain areas -most of which occurs in the winter (Bartolini et al, 2009) -it is likely that winter is the wettest quarter for most of our occurrence locations as only 10% of the records have TWQ values >10 • C. Also, because TDQ for our occurrence locations ranged from-35.1 • C to 21.8 • C, of which 48% are below 0 • C, TDQ is not particularly associated with the growing season and starkly contrasts the mean growing season temperature of 6.7 • C reported for mountain regions (Wang et al, 2013). Along mountain ranges, TDQ is evidently a cross-seasonal variable.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 64%

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Distribution models for mountain plant species: The value of elevation

Oke

Thompson

2015

Ecological Modelling

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 64%

Distribution models for mountain plant species: The value of elevation

Oke

Thompson

2015

Ecological Modelling

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“…Thus, comprehensive mapping of the spatial distributions of human activities and systematic investigation of their ecological impacts are future research priorities for enhancing methods in identifying WAs. Moreover, climate change has been demonstrated to have apparent impacts on some ecosystems in TPRR, particularly revealing that the alpine environment is the most susceptible 13 49 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying local-scale wilderness for on-ground conservation actions within a global biodiversity hotspot

Shu

Cai

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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Protecting wilderness areas (WAs) is a crucial proactive approach to sustain biodiversity. However, studies identifying local-scale WAs for on-ground conservation efforts are still very limited. This paper investigated the spatial patterns of wilderness in a global biodiversity hotspot – Three Parallel Rivers Region (TPRR) in southwest China. Wilderness was classified into levels 1 to 10 based on a cluster analysis of five indicators, namely human population density, naturalness, fragmentation, remoteness, and ruggedness. Only patches characterized by wilderness level 1 and ≥1.0 km2 were considered WAs. The wilderness levels in the northwest were significantly higher than those in the southeast, and clearly increased with the increase in elevation. The WAs covered approximately 25% of TPRR’s land, 89.3% of which was located in the >3,000 m elevation zones. WAs consisted of 20 vegetation types, among which temperate conifer forest, cold temperate shrub and alpine ecosystems covered 79.4% of WAs’ total area. Most WAs were still not protected yet by existing reserves. Topography and human activities are the primary influencing factors on the spatial patterns of wilderness. We suggest establishing strictly protected reserves for most large WAs, while some sustainable management approaches might be more optimal solutions for many highly fragmented small WAs.

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“…Soil thickness in karst areas is regulated by the supply of available inorganic nutrients and water resources (Wang et al 2013). Topography is also an important factor in soil thickness; it affects energy distribution, shaping plant community structure and type via its influence on plant growth and reproduction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Driving forest succession in karst areas of Chongqing municipality over the past decade

Xiao

Liu

et al. 2020

For. Ecosyst.

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Background: Karst areas in southwestern China exhibit ecological degradation in the form of rocky desertification. Local governments launched large-scale afforestation and other ecological restoration programs to curb this trend. Soil thickness is a key limiting factor for vegetation restoration in Karst areas, but the relationship between ecological restoration and soil thickness remains unclear. Further, afforestation consumes large amounts of water, which impacts water supply in karst areas. In this study, we used GIS and statistical analyses to determine rocky desertification sensitivity and its driving factors in karst areas of Chongqing municipality over the past decade. Results: Soil thickness is one of the key factors that restrict ecological restoration of rocky desertification. From 2000 to 2010, rocky desertification sensitivity in karst areas was on the rise along with an increase in afforestation. Areas of high sensitivity were mainly distributed in Pengshui County, Wulong District, and Youyang County; Shizhu County had the lowest overall incidence of desertification. Spatial distribution of rocky desertification was significantly affected by rainfall and soil thickness. Regression analysis showed that the main factors controlling changes in rocky desertification in natural forest over time were precipitation which explained 23.73% of total variance, and soil thickness which explained 23.42% of total variance. Soil thickness and soil water content had a higher correlation coefficient (at 0.516) in natural forests than in planted forests. Conclusion: This study showed that increases in soil thickness in a karst area had a significant positive impact on the fragile ecological environment. This indicates that ecosystem restoration in karst areas will benefit from addressing soil thickness.

show abstract

No slope exposure effect on alpine treeline position in the Three Parallel Rivers Region, SW China

Cited by 19 publications

References 25 publications

Distribution models for mountain plant species: The value of elevation

Distribution models for mountain plant species: The value of elevation

Identifying local-scale wilderness for on-ground conservation actions within a global biodiversity hotspot

Driving forest succession in karst areas of Chongqing municipality over the past decade

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