Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 754-771 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Science of the Total Environment |
| Volume | 648 |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jan 2019 |
Abstract
With 450,000 km2 Kobresia (syn. Carex) pygmaea dominated pastures in the eastern Tibetan highlands are the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem forming a durable turf cover at 3000–6000 m a.s.l. Kobresia's resilience and competitiveness is based on dwarf habit, predominantly below-ground allocation of photo assimilates, mixture of seed production and clonal growth, and high genetic diversity. Kobresia growth is co-limited by livestock-mediated nutrient withdrawal and, in the drier parts of the plateau, low rainfall during the short and cold growing season. Overstocking has caused pasture degradation and soil deterioration over most parts of the Tibetan highlands and is the basis for this man-made ecosystem. Natural autocyclic processes of turf destruction and soil erosion are initiated through polygonal turf cover cracking, and accelerated by soil-dwelling endemic small mammals in the absence of predators. The major consequences of vegetation cover deterioration include the release of large amounts of C, earlier diurnal formation of clouds, and decreased surface temperatures. These effects decrease the recovery potential of Kobresia pastures and make them more vulnerable to anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Traditional migratory rangeland management was sustainable over millennia, and possibly still offers the best strategy to conserve and possibly increase C stocks in the Kobresia turf.
Keywords
- Alpine meadow, Alpine plant ecology, Carbon cycle and sequestration, Carex parvula, Grazing ecology, Hydrological cycle, Nutrient cycles, Paleo-environment, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Rangeland management
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Environmental Science(all)
- Pollution
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 648, 15.01.2019, p. 754-771.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The Kobresia pygmaea ecosystem of the Tibetan highlands – Origin, functioning and degradation of the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem
T2 - Kobresia pastures of Tibet
AU - Miehe, Georg
AU - Schleuss, Per Marten
AU - Seeber, Elke
AU - Babel, Wolfgang
AU - Biermann, Tobias
AU - Braendle, Martin
AU - Chen, Fahu
AU - Coners, Heinz
AU - Foken, Thomas
AU - Gerken, Tobias
AU - Graf, Hans-F.
AU - Guggenberger, Georg
AU - Hafner, Silke
AU - Holzapfel, Maika
AU - Ingrisch, Johannes
AU - Kuzyakov, Yakov
AU - Lai, Zhongping
AU - Lehnert, Lukas
AU - Leuschner, Christoph
AU - Li, Xiaogang
AU - Liu, Jianquan
AU - Liu, Shibin
AU - Ma, Yaoming
AU - Miehe, Sabine
AU - Mosbrugger, Volker
AU - Noltie, Henry J.
AU - Schmidt, Joachim
AU - Spielvogel, Sandra
AU - Unteregelsbacher, Sebastian
AU - Wang, Yun
AU - Willinghöfer, Sandra
AU - Xu, Xingliang
AU - Yang, Yongping
AU - Zhang, Shuren
AU - Opgenoorth, Lars
AU - Wesche, Karsten
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the German Research Foundation [DFG SPP 1372 ]; Volkswagen Foundation [Marburg – Lhasa University Partnership Program]; the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research [BMBF-CAME framework]; the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China [ 2010DFA34610 , International Collaboration 111 Projects of China].
PY - 2019/1/15
Y1 - 2019/1/15
N2 - With 450,000 km2 Kobresia (syn. Carex) pygmaea dominated pastures in the eastern Tibetan highlands are the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem forming a durable turf cover at 3000–6000 m a.s.l. Kobresia's resilience and competitiveness is based on dwarf habit, predominantly below-ground allocation of photo assimilates, mixture of seed production and clonal growth, and high genetic diversity. Kobresia growth is co-limited by livestock-mediated nutrient withdrawal and, in the drier parts of the plateau, low rainfall during the short and cold growing season. Overstocking has caused pasture degradation and soil deterioration over most parts of the Tibetan highlands and is the basis for this man-made ecosystem. Natural autocyclic processes of turf destruction and soil erosion are initiated through polygonal turf cover cracking, and accelerated by soil-dwelling endemic small mammals in the absence of predators. The major consequences of vegetation cover deterioration include the release of large amounts of C, earlier diurnal formation of clouds, and decreased surface temperatures. These effects decrease the recovery potential of Kobresia pastures and make them more vulnerable to anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Traditional migratory rangeland management was sustainable over millennia, and possibly still offers the best strategy to conserve and possibly increase C stocks in the Kobresia turf.
AB - With 450,000 km2 Kobresia (syn. Carex) pygmaea dominated pastures in the eastern Tibetan highlands are the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem forming a durable turf cover at 3000–6000 m a.s.l. Kobresia's resilience and competitiveness is based on dwarf habit, predominantly below-ground allocation of photo assimilates, mixture of seed production and clonal growth, and high genetic diversity. Kobresia growth is co-limited by livestock-mediated nutrient withdrawal and, in the drier parts of the plateau, low rainfall during the short and cold growing season. Overstocking has caused pasture degradation and soil deterioration over most parts of the Tibetan highlands and is the basis for this man-made ecosystem. Natural autocyclic processes of turf destruction and soil erosion are initiated through polygonal turf cover cracking, and accelerated by soil-dwelling endemic small mammals in the absence of predators. The major consequences of vegetation cover deterioration include the release of large amounts of C, earlier diurnal formation of clouds, and decreased surface temperatures. These effects decrease the recovery potential of Kobresia pastures and make them more vulnerable to anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Traditional migratory rangeland management was sustainable over millennia, and possibly still offers the best strategy to conserve and possibly increase C stocks in the Kobresia turf.
KW - Alpine meadow
KW - Alpine plant ecology
KW - Carbon cycle and sequestration
KW - Carex parvula
KW - Grazing ecology
KW - Hydrological cycle
KW - Nutrient cycles
KW - Paleo-environment
KW - Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
KW - Rangeland management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051684066&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.164
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.164
M3 - Article
C2 - 30134213
AN - SCOPUS:85051684066
VL - 648
SP - 754
EP - 771
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
ER -