Abstract
The Tibetan Plateau has experienced rapid warming like most other alpine regions. Regional assessments show rates of warming comparable with the arctic region and decreasing Asian summer monsoons. We used meteorological station daily precipitation and daily maximum and minimum temperature data from 80 stations in the eastern Tibetan Plateau of southwest China to calculate local variation in the rates and seasonality of change over the last half century (1960–2008). Daily low temperatures during the growing season have increased greatly over the last 24 years (1984–2008). In sites of markedly increased warming (e.g., Deqin, Yunnan and Mangya, Qinghai), daily and growing season daily high temperatures have increased at a rate above 5 °C/100 years. In Deqin, precipitation prior to the 1980s fell as snow whereas in recent decades it has shifted to rain during March and April. These shifts to early spring rains are likely to affect plant communities. Animals like yaks adapted to cold climates are also expected to show impacts with these rising temperatures. This region deserves further investigation to determine how these shifts in climate are affecting local biodiversity and livelihoods.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DGE-0549369 IGERT: Training Program on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Southwest China at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We thank graduate students at Kunming Institute of Botany and staff at the Shangri-la Alpine Botanical Garden for their assistance. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their contribution.
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Haynes, M.A., Kung, KJ.S., Brandt, J.S. et al. Accelerated climate change and its potential impact on Yak herding livelihoods in the eastern Tibetan plateau. Climatic Change 123, 147–160 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-013-1043-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-013-1043-6