Systems of Vertical Agriculture in the Mountain Areas; A Comparative Study Of The Hengduan And Qilian Mountains Of The Tibetan Plateau

Abstract. To our knowledge, the Qilian Mountains in NW China have been investigated with respect to Recent or sub-Recent ostracods for the first time. The Qilian Mountains (95–103°E/37–40°N) extend along the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau reaching a maximum altitude of 5826 m above sea-level (m asl).In September 2001, surface mud from the bottom of various water bodies including brooks, rivers and small shallow meadow and oxbow pools were sampled at an altitude ranging from 2900 m to 3570 m asl. In addition, surface mud samples and short cores were obtained from the small (c. 1 km2) and shallow (<0.4 m) freshwater Lake Luanhaizi situated at about 3200 m asl.Ostracod valves were usually abundant in all of the 32 samples and comprised the taxa listed in Table 1, some of which are illustrated in Plate 1.The recorded taxa are mainly distributed in the holarctic realm but Fabaeformiscandona danielopoli and Ilyocypris echinata appear to be restricted to the cold mountainous regions in China (Huang, 1985; Wang & Zhu, 1991; Sun et al., 1995; Yin & Martens, 1997).Following the first survey, a 14 m long core was drilled in Lake Luanhaizi in January 2002 which is currently under multidisciplinary investigation to reconstruct the Holocene vegetation and climatic history of the Qilian Mountains.

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Impacts of black carbon and mineral dust on radiative forcing and glacier melting during summer in the Qilian Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

10.5194/tc-2016-32 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Yang Li ◽

Jizu Chen ◽

Shichang Kang ◽

Chaoliu Li ◽

Bin Qu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Black Carbon ◽

Radiative Forcing ◽

Mineral Dust ◽

Qilian Mountains ◽

Radiation Balance ◽

In Situ Observation ◽

Observation Data ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Glacier Melting

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) and mineral dust (MD), the most important compositions of light absorbing particles (LAPs), significantly reduce the albedo of glaciers and thus accelerate their melting. In order to investigate the impacts of BC and MD on the glacier radiation balance and ablation, a total of 92 surface snow/ice samples were collected along different elevations from 4300–4950 m a.s.l. on Laohugou glacier No. 12 (LHG, 39°10'–35' N, 96°10'–35' E), located at Qilian Mountains, northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), during summer of 2013 and 2014. A thermal-optical method was employed to detect the BC (EC – element carbon) concentrations in snow/ice samples. The results showed that BC and MD concentrations were much lower in snow than those in ice, and gradually declined with increasing elevation. The effects of BC and MD on albedo reduction at different melting conditions were identified with the SNow ICe Aerosol Radiative (SNICAR) model initiated by in-situ observation data. The sensitivity analysis showed that BC had a stronger impact on albedo reduction than MD on this glacier. The impacts of BC represented around 45 % of albedo reduction while the contribution of MD was 35 % when the glacier surface presented as superimposed ice and experienced intensive melting. During summer, when the surface was covered by snow, BC and MD contributed for 15 % and 9 % respectively. On average, the radiative forcing (RF) caused by BC in the snow/ice, more than MD, was 41.6 &pm; 37.0 W m−2. Meanwhile, compared to glacier melting in summer of 2013 and 2014 (409 mm w.e. and 366 mm w.e., respectively) calculated using the surface energy-mass balance model, contributions of BC and MD were less than 37 % and 32 % respectively of summer melting, while MD and BC together contributed a maximum of 61 %. This study provided the baseline information on BC and MD concentrations in glaciers of the northeastern TP and their contributions in glacier melting during summer.

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Alpine Cold Vegetation Response to Climate Change in the Western Nyainqentanglha Range in 1972–2009

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1155/2014/514736 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Xu Wang ◽

Ziyong Sun ◽

Ai-Guo Zhou

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Vegetation Coverage ◽

Ecosystem Change ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

Vegetation Fraction ◽

The Past ◽

Spectral Mixture

The Tibetan Plateau is regarded as one of the most climatic-sensitive regions all over the world. Long-term remote sensing data enable us to monitor spatial-temporal change in this area. The vegetation changes of the western Nyainqentanglha region were detected by using RS and GIS techniques. And the vegetation coverage was derived by the NDVI-SMA (spectral mixture analysis) methods. An incensement of vegetation was observed in the mountain areas during 1972–2009 with a mean vegetation coverage of 24.87%, 35.89%, and 42.88% in 30/09/1972, 14/09/1991, and 30/08/2009, respectively. The vegetation fraction increased by 18% in the period of 1972–2009. The bin with the elevation between 4400 and 5200 m had the highest vegetation coverage. This may be the result of the mountain effect. Alpine vegetation had a trend to increase and expand to higher altitudes with the climate change in the past 40 years. The variation appears to be associated with an increase in mean temperature of 0.05°C per year and an increase in precipitation of 1.83 mm per year in the growing season of the past four decades. The results provide further evidence of alpine ecosystem change due to climate change in the central Tibetan Plateau.

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Temperature variability and vertical vegetation belt shifts during the last ∼50,000 yr in the Qilian Mountains (NE margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China)

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2006.03.001 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 133-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 98

Author(s):

Ulrike Herzschuh ◽

Harald Kürschner ◽

Steffen Mischke

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Mixed Forest ◽

Qilian Mountains ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Arboreal Pollen ◽

Short Period ◽

Alpine Shrub ◽

Vegetation Belt ◽

The Qilian Mountains

AbstractA 13.94-m-long sediment core, collected from a medium-sized lake in the Qilian Mountains (NE Tibetan Plateau, China), was analysed palynologically at 81 horizons. The interpretation of indicator taxa yielded various vertical shifts of the vegetation belts. These palaeovegetation results have been checked with lake surface pollen spectra from 8 lakes representing different altitudinal vegetation belts. Our main findings are the following: A short period of the late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (around ∼46,000 yr ago) was characterized by interglacial temperature conditions with a tree line above its present-day altitude. During the LGM, the vicinity of the lake was not covered by ice but by sparse alpine vegetation and alpine deserts, indicating that the climate was colder by ∼4–7°C than today. Markedly higher temperatures were inferred from higher arboreal pollen frequencies between ∼13,000 and ∼7,000 yr ago with a Holocene temperature optimum and a maximal Picea–Betula mixed-forest expansion between ∼9,000 and ∼7000 yr ago, when temperatures exceeded the present-day conditions by at least 1–2°C. Alpine steppes and meadows and sub-alpine shrub vegetation dominated around the lake since the middle Holocene, suggesting that vegetation and climate conditions were exceptionally stable in comparison to previous periods.

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