Interaction of climate change and human activity and its impact on plant diversity in Qinghai-Tibet plateau

The Qinghai-Tibet plateau (QTP) is the largest and highest plateau in the world, and is an important center for biodiversity that houses an array of high-elevation ecosystems. Despite its importance, QTP has faced multiple conservation challenges over the past decades, in particular due to climate changes (e.g. rising temperature, changing precipitation patterns, and an increase in extreme weather) and over exploitation of natural resources by human activities. Despite growing evidence that plant diversity on QTP is shifting under climate change and human activity, the mechanisms behind these responses—especially acclimation and adaptation—remain poorly understood.

To that end, a team of researchers from Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a comprehensive review integrating decades of research on how climate change and anthropogenic pressures has directly and indirectly impact growth, reproduction, phenology, distribution and ecosystem functions of plant diversity on the QTP. The team also identified critical gaps in current knowledge, such as the synergistic effects of multiple stressors on endemic species, and propose a framework for future research and conservation prioritization.

The team recommend that the following areas be further investigated.

1. Plant growth and reproduction, including interdisciplinary work on ecological adaptation of alpine forbs and large-scale studies of reproductive traits, their plasticity and whether responses are phylogenetically constrained.
2. Plant phenology, requiring long-term ground observations of leaf-out and flowering, especially at cold/arid range limits, supported by field-station experiments to uncover mechanisms.
3. Distribution ranges, with a focus on mountaintop “sky island” ecosystems, tracking shifts in species, communities and vegetation, and assessing degradation of foundation taxa such as cushion plants.
4. Native plant invasion, examining belowground impacts (microbes, nutrient cycling, enzymes), identifying allelopathic compounds, and studying multi-trophic effects on ecosystem function.
5. Commercial harvesting of medicinal plants, calling for field-based monitoring, conservation warning systems, and culturally informed, sustainable harvesting strategies.

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Contact the author: Hang Sun, sunhang@mail.kib.ac.cn

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