Global warming-related tree growth decline and mortality on the north-eastern Tibetan plateau | |
Liang, E (Liang, Eryuan)1; Leuschner, C (Leuschner, Christoph)2; Dulamsuren, C (Dulamsuren, Choimaa)2; Wagner, B (Wagner, Bettina)2; Hauck, M (Hauck, Markus)2,3; Liang, E | |
Source Publication | CLIMATIC CHANGE |
2016 | |
Volume | 134Issue:1-2Pages:163-176 |
DOI | 10.1007/s10584-015-1531-y |
Abstract | Semi-arid forests at the limit of their existence close to the Gobi Desert in Inner Asia might be vulnerable to warming-induced drought stress. Yet, not much is known about the impact of global-change-type droughts on these forests. Here, we show that warming-related tree mortality is recently taking place in high-elevation semi-arid Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia Kom.) forests of the north-eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (Qilian Mountains). Tree-ring samples were collected from 24 Qinghai spruce forest plots (20 m x 20 m) at three elevations (2600, 2700, 2800 m) along eight elevation transects on north-facing slopes. Three lines of evidence suggest that these forests are increasingly at risk of increased tree mortality as a consequence of global warming, (i) a strong precipitation and air humidity dependence of radial growth, (ii) increasing frequency of missing tree rings, and (iii) a rising tree mortality rate in recent decades. The recent drought episode on the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau may represent a precursor of future global-change-type drought events in large parts of Inner Asia. Warming-related tree mortality of the semi-arid forests may be interpreted as early-warning signs for the densely populated artificial oases surrounding the Gobi Desert, which largely depend on river run-off from the mountain forests on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. |
Subject Area | 自然地理学 |
WOS ID | WOS:000367198900012 |
Language | 英语 |
Indexed By | SCI |
Keyword | Change-type Drought Climate-change Precipitation Variation Ring Chronologies Semiarid Forests Qilian Mountains Upper Timberline White Spruce Die-off Temperature |
Cooperation Status | 国际 |
Department | 环境 |
Subtype | Article |
Citation statistics | |
Document Type | 期刊论文 |
Identifier | http://ir.itpcas.ac.cn/handle/131C11/7888 |
Collection | 图书馆 |
Corresponding Author | Liang, E |
Affiliation | 1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Tibetan Plateau Res, Key Lab Alpine Ecol & Biodivers, Key Lab Tibetan Environm Changes & Land Surface P, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China 2.Univ Gottingen, Albrecht von Haller Inst Plant Sci, Plant Ecol, D-37073 Gottingen, Germany 3.Carl von Ossietzky Univ Oldenburg, Inst Biol & Environm Sci, Funct Ecol, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany |
Recommended Citation GB/T 7714 | Liang, E ,Leuschner, C ,Dulamsuren, C ,et al. Global warming-related tree growth decline and mortality on the north-eastern Tibetan plateau[J]. CLIMATIC CHANGE,2016,134(1-2):163-176. |
APA | Liang, E ,Leuschner, C ,Dulamsuren, C ,Wagner, B ,Hauck, M ,&Liang, E.(2016).Global warming-related tree growth decline and mortality on the north-eastern Tibetan plateau.CLIMATIC CHANGE,134(1-2),163-176. |
MLA | Liang, E ,et al."Global warming-related tree growth decline and mortality on the north-eastern Tibetan plateau".CLIMATIC CHANGE 134.1-2(2016):163-176. |
Files in This Item: | ||||||
File Name/Size | DocType | Version | Access | License | ||
V.134(1-2) 163-176 2(646KB) | 期刊论文 | 作者接受稿 | 开放获取 | CC BY-NC-SA | View Application Full Text |
Items in the repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Edit Comment