Regime shift on the roof of the world: Alpine meadows converting to shrublands in the southern Himalayas

► We reconstructed alpine change from 1950 to 2009 in northwest Yunnan, China. ► From 1990 to 2009, 39% of the alpine meadows converted to woody shrubs. ► Patterns of change suggest that a catastrophic regime shift is occurring. ► Shrub encroachment was driven by climate change, fire restrictions, a...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:	Biological conservation Jg. 158; S. 116 - 127
Hauptverfasser:	Brandt, Jodi S., Haynes, Michelle A., Kuemmerle, Tobias, Waller, Donald M., Radeloff, Volker C.
Format:	Journal Article
Sprache:	Englisch
Veröffentlicht:	Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2013 Elsevier
Schlagworte:	alpine meadows Animal, plant and microbial ecology Applied ecology Biodiversity Biological and medical sciences Biological diversity China Climate Conservation Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife Coupled natural and human systems ecosystems Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology General aspects Grasslands grazing Hydrology indigenous species interviews land cover Land cover/land use change Land use land use change Landsat change detection livelihood Northwest Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking Qinghai–Tibet plateau satellites Shrub encroachment shrublands shrubs species diversity surveys Tipping point Vegetation woody plants Central Asia World Tibet Asia China Himalayas Pakistan, Himalayas China, People's Rep Land cover/land use change Shrub encroachment Coupled natural and human systems Qinghai–Tibet plateau Tipping point Landsat change detection Human Grassland Space remote sensing Lawn Environmental factor Land use Alpine vegetation Mountain Qinghai-Tibet plateau Plant cover Detection Shrubbery Environmental protection
ISSN:	0006-3207, 1873-2917
Online-Zugang:	Volltext
Tags:	Tag hinzufügen Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!

Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:	► We reconstructed alpine change from 1950 to 2009 in northwest Yunnan, China. ► From 1990 to 2009, 39% of the alpine meadows converted to woody shrubs. ► Patterns of change suggest that a catastrophic regime shift is occurring. ► Shrub encroachment was driven by climate change, fire restrictions, and grazing. ► This regime shift threatens both endemic meadow biodiversity and local livelihoods. Worldwide, changing climates and land use practices are escalating woody-plants encroachment into grasslands, reducing biodiversity and altering ecosystem functions. The loss of alpine grasslands is a major conservation concern as they harbor many rare and endemic species. Alpine meadows in Northwest Yunnan, China, represent a global biodiversity hotspot with high species richness, beta diversity, and endemism. Shrubs have expanded greatly in the region and threaten alpine meadow biodiversity. To measure rates of meadow loss due to shrub encroachment and identify its mechanisms, we reconstructed alpine land cover, climate, and land use change from 1950 to 2009 across Northwest Yunnan using satellite data, ground surveys, and interviews. Between 1990 and 2009, at least 39% of the alpine meadows converted to woody shrubs. The patterns of change suggest that a regime shift is occurring. Despite multiple perturbations to the climate and land use systems starting in the 1950s, alpine meadows remained resilient to shrub expansion until the late 1980s. Shrublands rapidly expanded then due to feedback mechanisms involving climate, woody cover, and grazing. Fire may no longer be an effective tool for controlling shrub expansion. This regime shift threatens both endemic meadow biodiversity and local livelihoods. More generally, these trends serve as a warning sign for the greater Himalayan region where similar vegetation changes could greatly affect livelihoods, hydrology, and climate.
Bibliographie:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.07.026 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0006-3207 1873-2917
DOI:	10.1016/j.biocon.2012.07.026