The Kobresia pygmaea ecosystem of the Tibetan highlands – Origin, functioning and degradation of the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem

Kobresia pastures of Tibet

authored by

Georg Miehe, Per Marten Schleuss, Elke Seeber, Wolfgang Babel, Tobias Biermann, Martin Braendle, Fahu Chen, Heinz Coners, Thomas Foken, Tobias Gerken, Hans-F. Graf, Georg Guggenberger, Silke Hafner, Maika Holzapfel, Johannes Ingrisch, Yakov Kuzyakov, Zhongping Lai, Lukas Lehnert, Christoph Leuschner, Xiaogang Li, Jianquan Liu, Shibin Liu, Yaoming Ma, Sabine Miehe, Volker Mosbrugger, Henry J. Noltie, Joachim Schmidt, Sandra Spielvogel, Sebastian Unteregelsbacher, Yun Wang, Sandra Willinghöfer, Xingliang Xu, Yongping Yang, Shuren Zhang, Lars Opgenoorth, Karsten Wesche

Abstract

With 450,000 km² Kobresia (syn. Carex) pygmaea dominated pastures in the eastern Tibetan highlands are the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem forming a durable turf cover at 3000–6000 m a.s.l. Kobresia's resilience and competitiveness is based on dwarf habit, predominantly below-ground allocation of photo assimilates, mixture of seed production and clonal growth, and high genetic diversity. Kobresia growth is co-limited by livestock-mediated nutrient withdrawal and, in the drier parts of the plateau, low rainfall during the short and cold growing season. Overstocking has caused pasture degradation and soil deterioration over most parts of the Tibetan highlands and is the basis for this man-made ecosystem. Natural autocyclic processes of turf destruction and soil erosion are initiated through polygonal turf cover cracking, and accelerated by soil-dwelling endemic small mammals in the absence of predators. The major consequences of vegetation cover deterioration include the release of large amounts of C, earlier diurnal formation of clouds, and decreased surface temperatures. These effects decrease the recovery potential of Kobresia pastures and make them more vulnerable to anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Traditional migratory rangeland management was sustainable over millennia, and possibly still offers the best strategy to conserve and possibly increase C stocks in the Kobresia turf.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Soil Science
Section Soil Chemistry

External Organisation(s)

Philipps-Universität Marburg
University of Bayreuth
University of Greifswald
Lund University
Lanzhou University
University of Göttingen
Montana State University
University of Cambridge
State Museum of Natural History Görlitz
University of Innsbruck
Kazan Volga Region Federal University
China University of Geosciences
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Senckenberg Research
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
University of Rostock
Kiel University
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Technische Universität Dresden
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

Type

Article

Journal

Science of the Total Environment

Volume

648

Pages

754-771

No. of pages

18

ISSN

0048-9697

Publication date

15.01.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Environmental Engineering, Environmental Chemistry, Waste Management and Disposal, Pollution

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 - Climate Action

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.164 (Access: Open)