Rapid growth of the Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus wintering population in Tibet, China: 1991–2017

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
MARY ANNE BISHOP ◽  
DONGPING LIU ◽  
GUOGANG ZHANG ◽  
DROLMA TSAMCHU ◽  
LE YANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
South Central ◽  
Tibet Autonomous Region ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Wintering Population

Summary Four of China’s six wintering populations of “grey” geese Anser spp. declined during the last decade. In contrast, the Bar-headed Goose A. indicus wintering population in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region more than doubled. During six surveys in Tibet over a 27-year period (1991/92 to 2017/18 winters) we documented an annual growth rate of 6.8% in the Bar-headed Goose population – an increase from approximately 10,100 to 68,100 birds. We propose that in addition to the cessation of hunting, the population growth of Bar-headed Goose is being driven by changes in agricultural land use patterns in Tibet, the establishment of protected areas on the wintering and breeding grounds, and the impacts of climate change across the Tibetan Plateau. Consistent with this hypothesis, the sown area of winter wheat in Tibet has increased and geese have shifted from primarily feeding in crop stubble to planted winter wheat fields. We also found that the most rapid population growth coincided with a 1998 climate regime shift across the Tibetan Plateau resulting in warmer temperatures, an increase in net precipitation, the appearance of new lakes and changes in the water levels and surface area of historical lakes. We suggest that warmer temperatures and high-quality forage on the south-central Tibet wintering grounds may be enhancing over-winter survival, while on the breeding grounds the expansion of lakes and wet meadows is augmenting breeding and brood-rearing habitat.

scholarly journals What are the key drivers of regional differences in the water balance on the Tibetan Plateau?

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 4271-4314 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Biskop ◽  
F. Maussion ◽  
P. Krause ◽  
M. Fink
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Hydrological Modeling ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
South Central ◽  
Lake Basins

Abstract. Lake-level fluctuations in closed basins on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) indicate climate-induced changes in the regional water balance. However, little is known about the region's key hydrological parameters, hampering the interpretation of these changes. The purpose of this study is to contribute to a more quantitative understanding of these controls. Four lakes in the south-central part of the TP were selected to analyze the spatiotemporal variations of water-balance components: Nam Co and Tangra Yumco (indicating increasing water levels), and Mapam Yumco and Paiku Co (indicating stable or slightly decreasing water levels). We present the results of an integrated approach combining hydrological modeling, atmospheric-model output and remote-sensing data. The hydrological model J2000g was adapted and extended according to the specific characteristics of closed lake basins on the TP and driven with "High Asia Refined analysis (HAR)" data at 10 km resolution for the period 2001–2010. Our results reveal that because of the small portion of glacier areas (1 to 7% of the total basin area) the contribution of glacier melt water accounts for only 14–30% of total runoff during the study period. Precipitation is found to be the principal factor controlling the water-balance in the four studied basins. The positive water balance in the Nam Co and Tangra Yumco basins was primarily related to larger precipitation amounts and thus higher runoff rates in comparison with the Paiku Co and Mapam Yumco basins. This study highlights the benefits of combining atmospheric and hydrological modeling. The presented approach can be readily transferred to other ungauged lake basins on the TP, opening new directions of research. Future work should go towards increasing the atmospheric model's spatial resolution and a better assessment of the model-chain uncertainties, especially in this region where observational data is missing.

scholarly journals Changing Pattern of Water Level Trends in Eurasian Endorheic Lakes as a Response to the Recent Climate Variability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 3705
Author(s):  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Abilgazi Kurbaniyazov ◽  
Georgiy Kirillin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Hydrological Regime ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Lake Levels ◽  
Mongolian Plateau ◽  
Recent Climate

Lake level is a sensitive integral indicator of climate change on regional scales, especially in enclosed endorheic basins. Eurasia contains the largest endorheic zone with several large terminal lakes, whose water levels recently underwent remarkable variations. To address the patterns of these variations and their links to the climate change, we investigated the variability of levels in 15 lakes of three neighboring endorheic regions—Central Asia, Tibetan Plateau, and Mongolian Plateau. Satellite altimetry revealed a heterogeneous pattern among the regions during 1992–2018: lake levels increased significantly in Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau but decreased on the Mongolian Plateau. The shifts to the increasing trend were detected since 1997 in Central Asia, since 1998 in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, and since 2005 in its northern part. The shift in air temperatures around 1997 and the precipitation shifts around 1998 and 2004 contributed to the trend’s turning points, with precipitation being the major contributor to the heterogeneous pattern of lake levels. Our findings reveal the linkage of the heterogeneous pattern of lake levels to climatic factors in the endorheic basins, providing a further understanding of the hydrological regime in the Eurasian endorheic zone and its sensitivity to climate change.

scholarly journals Agricultural Adaptation to Global Warming in the Tibetan Plateau

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (19) ◽  
pp. 3686
Author(s):  
Yanling Song ◽  
Chunyi Wang ◽  
Hans W. Linderholm ◽  
Jinfeng Tian ◽  
Ying Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Regional Climate Model ◽  
Spring Wheat ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Agricultural Adaptation

The Tibetan plateau is one of the most sensitive areas in China and has been significantly affected by global warming. From 1961 to 2017, the annual air temperature increased by 0.32 °C/decade over the Tibetan Plateau, which is the highest in the whole of China. Furthermore, this is a trend that is projected to continue by 0.30 °C/decade from 2018 to 2050 due to global warming using the Regional Climate Model version 4 (RegCM4). The increased temperature trend in recent decades has been highest in winter, which has been positive for the safe dormancy of winter wheat. In order to investigate agricultural adaptation to climate change in the Tibetan plateau, we used the World Food Studies (WOFOST) cropping systems model and weather data from the regional climate model RegCM4, to simulate winter wheat production in Guide county between 2018 and 2050. The simulated winter wheat potential yields amounted to 6698.3 kg/ha from 2018 to 2050, which showed the wheat yields would increase by 81%, if winter wheat was planted instead of spring wheat in the Tibetan Plateau with the correct amount of irrigation water. These results indicate that there are not only risks to crop yields from climate change, but also potential benefits. Global warming introduced the possibility to plant winter wheat instead of spring wheat over the Tibetan Plateau. These findings are very important for farmers and government agencies dealing with agricultural adaptation in a warmer climate.

Potential forcing mechanisms of Holocene lake-level changes at Nam Co, Tibetan Plateau: Inferred from the stable isotopic composition of shells of the gastropod Radix

The Holocene ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Chen ◽  
Jin-Liang Feng ◽  
Hai-Ping Hu ◽  
Ji-Feng Zhang ◽  
Shao-Peng Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The South ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Lake Level Changes ◽  
South Central

The timing of lake-level fluctuations on the Tibetan Plateau and their relationship with climatic changes is still under debate, and the main reason for this is the lack of suitable archives for reconstructing the paleohydrology and paleoclimatology of the lakes. Here, we present the results of analyses of the shell geochemistry of Radix sp. from an exposed terrace of Nam Co lake on the south-central Tibetan Plateau. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating reveals that deep-water lacustrine sediments formed between ca. 4.4 and 2.2 ka, suggesting a high and stable lake level significantly above the present. The results of Sr/Ca, δ13C and δ18O analyses of the fossil shells of Radix sp. indicate that during the mid- to late-Holocene, lake-level variations in Nam Co were mainly controlled by variations in the Indian Summer Monsoon. A trend of decreasing evaporation also played an important role. Comparison with other results suggests a consistent pattern of mid- to late-Holocene lake-level changes across a large area of the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions to the south, which had a similar causal mechanism. Finally, our results indicate that fossil shells of the gastropod Radix sp. of the lakes on the Tibetan Plateau are a valuable archive for reconstructing the regional paleohydrology and paleoclimatology.

scholarly journals Past the climate optimum: Recruitment is declining at the world’s highest juniper shrublines on the Tibetan Plateau

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eryuan Liang ◽  
Xiaoming Lu ◽  
Yafeng Wang ◽  
Flurin Babst ◽  
Steven W. Leavitt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
South Central ◽  
Subsequent Decrease ◽  
Central Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Impacts

<p>Alpine biomes are climate change hotspots, and treeline dynamics in particular have received much attention as visible evidence of climate-induced shifts in species distributions. Comparatively little is known, however, about the effects of climate change on alpine shrubline dynamics. Here, we reconstruct decadally resolved shrub recruitment history (age structure) through the combination of field surveys and dendroecology methods at the world’s highest juniper (Juniperus pingii var. wilsonii) shrublines on the south-central Tibetan Plateau. A total of 1,899 shrubs were surveyed at 12 plots located in four regions along an east-to-west declining precipitation gradient. We detected synchronous recruitment with 9 out of 12 plots showing a gradual increase from 1600 to 1900, a peak at 1900–1940, and a subsequent decrease from the 1930s onward. Shrub recruitment was significantly and positively correlated with reconstructed summer temperature from 1600 to 1940, whereas it was negatively associated with temperature in recent decades (1930–2000). Recruitment was also positively correlated with precipitation, except in the 1780–1830 period, when a trend toward wetter climate conditions began. This apparent tipping point in recruitment success coincides with a switch from positive to negative impacts of rising temperatures.  Warming-induced drought limitation has likely reduced the recruitment potential of alpine juniper shrubs in recent decades. Continued warming is thus expected to further alter the dynamics of alpine shrublines on the Tibetan Plateau and elsewhere.</p>

scholarly journals Changing characteristics of atmospheric CH<sub>4</sub> on the Tibetan Plateau, records from 1994 to 2017 at Mount Waliguan station

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuo Liu ◽  
Shuangxi Fang ◽  
Peng Liu ◽  
Miao Liang ◽  
Minrui Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Northern India ◽  
City Regions ◽  
Long Term Observation

Abstract. A 24-year long-term observation of atmospheric CH4 was presented at Mt. Waliguan (WLG) station, the only WMO/GAW global station in inland of Eurasia. Overall, during 1994–2017, continuously increase of atmospheric CH4 was observed at WLG with yearly growth rate of 5.1 ± 0.1 ppb yr−1, although near-zero and even negative growth appeared in some particular periods, e.g., 1999–2000, and 2004–2006. The average CH4 mole fraction was only 1805.8 ± 0.1 ppb in 1995, but unprecedented elevated ~ 100 ppb and reached a historic high of 1903.8 ± 0.1 ppb in 2016. The seasonal averages of atmospheric CH4 at WLG were ordered by summer, winter, autumn and spring, and the correlation slopes of ΔCO/ΔCH4 showed a maximum in summer and minimum in winter, which was almost opposite to other sites in the northern hemisphere, e.g., Mauna Loa, Jungfraujoch, and was caused by regional transport. Strong potential sources at WLG were predominately identified in northeast (cities, e.g., Xining, Lanzhou) and southwest (the Northern India), and air masses from west and northwest regions were accompanied with higher CH4 mole fractions than that from city regions. What is interesting is that obviously changes appeared in different observing periods. Generally, (i) the amplitudes of diurnal or seasonal cycles were continuously increasing over time, (ii) the wind sectors with elevated CH4 moved from ENE- ... -SSE sectors in early periods to NNE- ... -E sectors (city regions) in later years, (iii) the area of source regions was increasing along with the years, and strong sources gradually shifted from northeast to southwest, (iv) the annual growth rates in recent years (e.g., 2013–2016) were significantly larger than that in early periods (e.g., 1998–2012). We conclude that the site was more and more affected by regional sources along with the time. Northern India was possibly becoming the strongest source area to WLG rather than city regions before. The case study in the Tibetan Plateau showed that the atmospheric CH4 observed in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau changed not as expected, the annual growth rate was even larger than that in city regions in some period (e.g., 7.3 ± 0.1 ppb yr−1 in 2013–2016). It is unambiguous that the anomalously fluctuations of atmospheric CH4 in this region are a warning to the world, its increasingly annual growth rate may be a dangerous signal to global climate change.

scholarly journals Densified multi-mission observations by developed optical water levels show marked increases in lake water storage and overflow floods on the Tibetan Plateau

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingdong Li ◽  
Di Long ◽  
Qi Huang ◽  
Pengfei Han ◽  
Fanyu Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Lake Water ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Altimetry Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Lake Water Level ◽  
And Storage

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) known as Asia's water towers is quite sensitive to climate change, reflected by changes in hydrological state variables such as lake water storage. Given the extremely limited ground observations on the TP due to the harsh environment and complex terrain, we exploited multisource remote sensing, i.e., multiple altimetric missions and Landsat archives to create dense time series (monthly and even higher such as 10 days on average) of lake water level and storage changes across 52 large lakes (> 100 km2) on the TP during 2000–2017 (the data set is available online with a DOI: https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.898411). Field experiments were carried out in two typical lakes to validate the remotely sensed results. With Landsat archives and partial altimetry data, we developed optical water levels that cover most of TP lakes and serve as an ideal reference for merging multisource lake water levels. The optical water levels show an uncertainty of ~ 0.1 m that is comparable with most altimetry data and largely reduce the lack of dense altimetric observations with systematic errors well removed for most of lakes. The densified lake water levels provided critical and accurate information on the long-term and short-term monitoring of lake water level and storage changes on the TP. We found that the total storage of the 52 lakes increased by 97.3 km3 at two stages, i.e., 6.68 km3/yr during 2000–2012 and 2.85 km3/yr during 2012–2017. The total overflow from Lake Kusai to Lake Haidingnuoer and Lake Salt during Nov 9–Dec 31 in 2011 was estimated to be 0.22 km3, providing critical information on lake overflow flood monitoring and prediction as the expansion of some TP lakes becomes a serious threat to surrounding residents and infrastructure.

scholarly journals High-temporal-resolution water level and storage change data sets for lakes on the Tibetan Plateau during 2000–2017 using multiple altimetric missions and Landsat-derived lake shoreline positions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1603-1627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingdong Li ◽  
Di Long ◽  
Qi Huang ◽  
Pengfei Han ◽  
Fanyu Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Lake Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Altimetry Data ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Storage Change

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP), known as Asia's water tower, is quite sensitive to climate change, which is reflected by changes in hydrologic state variables such as lake water storage. Given the extremely limited ground observations on the TP due to the harsh environment and complex terrain, we exploited multiple altimetric missions and Landsat satellite data to create high-temporal-resolution lake water level and storage change time series at weekly to monthly timescales for 52 large lakes (50 lakes larger than 150 km2 and 2 lakes larger than 100 km2) on the TP during 2000–2017. The data sets are available online at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.898411 (Li et al., 2019). With Landsat archives and altimetry data, we developed water levels from lake shoreline positions (i.e., Landsat-derived water levels) that cover the study period and serve as an ideal reference for merging multisource lake water levels with systematic biases being removed. To validate the Landsat-derived water levels, field experiments were carried out in two typical lakes, and theoretical uncertainty analysis was performed based on high-resolution optical images (0.8 m) as well. The RMSE of the Landsat-derived water levels is 0.11 m compared with the in situ measurements, consistent with the magnitude from theoretical analysis (0.1–0.2 m). The accuracy of the Landsat-derived water levels that can be derived in relatively small lakes is comparable with most altimetry data. The resulting merged Landsat-derived and altimetric lake water levels can provide accurate information on multiyear and short-term monitoring of lake water levels and storage changes on the TP, and critical information on lake overflow flood monitoring and prediction as the expansion of some TP lakes becomes a serious threat to surrounding residents and infrastructure.

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