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Global warming-related tree growth decline and mortality on the north-eastern Tibetan plateau

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Abstract

Semi-arid forests at the limit of their existence close to the Gobi Desert in Inner Asia might be vulnerable to warming-induced drought stress. Yet, not much is known about the impact of global-change-type droughts on these forests. Here, we show that warming-related tree mortality is recently taking place in high-elevation semi-arid Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia Kom.) forests of the north-eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (Qilian Mountains). Tree-ring samples were collected from 24 Qinghai spruce forest plots (20 m × 20 m) at three elevations (2600, 2700, 2800 m) along eight elevation transects on north-facing slopes. Three lines of evidence suggest that these forests are increasingly at risk of increased tree mortality as a consequence of global warming, (i) a strong precipitation and air humidity dependence of radial growth, (ii) increasing frequency of missing tree rings, and (iii) a rising tree mortality rate in recent decades. The recent drought episode on the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau may represent a precursor of future global-change-type drought events in large parts of Inner Asia. Warming-related tree mortality of the semi-arid forests may be interpreted as early-warning signs for the densely populated artificial oases surrounding the Gobi Desert, which largely depend on river run-off from the mountain forests on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

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Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by DFG project (Ha 3152/12-1) in the scope of Priority Program 1372 “Tibetan Plateau: Formation – Climate – Ecosystems” and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41171161).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Eryuan Liang

  2. Plant Ecology, Albrecht von Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg August University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

    Christoph Leuschner, Choimaa Dulamsuren, Bettina Wagner & Markus Hauck

  3. Functional Ecology, Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    Markus Hauck

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  1. Eryuan Liang
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  2. Christoph Leuschner
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  3. Choimaa Dulamsuren
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  4. Bettina Wagner
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  5. Markus Hauck
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Correspondence to Eryuan Liang or Markus Hauck.

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Liang, E., Leuschner, C., Dulamsuren, C. et al. Global warming-related tree growth decline and mortality on the north-eastern Tibetan plateau. Climatic Change 134, 163–176 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1531-y

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