Past, present, and future geo-biosphere interactions on the Tibetan Plateau and implications for permafrost

verfasst von

Todd A. Ehlers, Deliang Chen, Erwin Appel, Tobias Bolch, Fahu Chen, Bernhard Diekmann, Michaela A. Dippold, Markus Giese, Georg Guggenberger, Hui Wen Lai, Xin Li, Junguo Liu, Yongqin Liu, Yaoming Ma, Georg Miehe, Volker Mosbrugger, Andreas Mulch, Shilong Piao, Antje Schwalb, Lonnie G. Thompson, Zhongbo Su, Hang Sun, Tandong Yao, Xiaoxin Yang, Kun Yang, Liping Zhu

Abstract

Interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere are most active in the critical zone, a region extending from the tops of trees to the top of unweathered bedrock. Changes in one or more of these spheres can result in a cascade of changes throughout the system in ways that are often poorly understood. Here we investigate how past and present climate change have impacted permafrost, hydrology, and ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau. We do this by compiling existing climate, hydrologic, cryosphere, biosphere, and geologic studies documenting change over decadal to glacial-interglacial timescales and longer. Our emphasis is on showing present-day trends in environmental change and how plateau ecosystems have largely flourished under warmer and wetter periods in the geologic past. We identify two future pathways that could lead to either a favorable greening or unfavorable degradation and desiccation of plateau ecosystems. Both paths are plausible given the available evidence. We contend that the key to which pathway future generations experience lies in what, if any, human intervention measures are implemented. We conclude with suggested management strategies that can be implemented to facilitate a future greening of the Tibetan Plateau.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Bodenkunde
AG Bodenchemie

Externe Organisation(en)

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Göteborgs Universitet
University of St. Andrews
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI) Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung
South University of Science and Technology of China
Lanzhou University
Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Philipps-Universität Marburg
Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden
LOEWE Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Peking University
Technische Universität Braunschweig
The Ohio State University
International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences
Tsinghua University

Typ

Übersichtsarbeit

Journal

Earth-Science Reviews

Band

234

ISSN

0012-8252

Publikationsdatum

11.2022

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Allgemeine Erdkunde und Planetologie

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 13 – Klimaschutzmaßnahmen

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104197 (Zugang: Offen)