Pasture degradation modifies the water and carbon cycles of the Tibetan highlands

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Babel, W.; Biermann, T.; Coners, H.; Falge, E.; Seeber, E. et al.: Pasture degradation modifies the water and carbon cycles of the Tibetan highlands. In: Biogeosciences 11 (2014), Nr. 23, S. 6633-6656. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6633-2014

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Abstract: 
The Tibetan Plateau has a significant role with regard to atmospheric circulation and the monsoon in particular. Changes between a closed plant cover and open bare soil are one of the striking effects of land use degradation observed with unsustainable range management or climate change, but experiments investigating changes of surface properties and processes together with atmospheric feedbacks are rare and have not been undertaken in the world's two largest alpine ecosystems, the alpine steppe and the Kobresia pygmaea pastures of the Tibetan Plateau. We connected measurements of micro-lysimeter, chamber, 13C labelling, and eddy covariance and combined the observations with land surface and atmospheric models, adapted to the highland conditions. This allowed us to analyse how three degradation stages affect the water and carbon cycle of pastures on the landscape scale within the core region of the Kobresia pygmaea ecosystem. The study revealed that increasing degradation of the Kobresia turf affects carbon allocation and strongly reduces the carbon uptake, compromising the function of Kobresia pastures as a carbon sink. Pasture degradation leads to a shift from transpiration to evaporation while a change in the sum of evapotranspiration over a longer period cannot be confirmed. The results show an earlier onset of convection and cloud generation, likely triggered by a shift in evapotranspiration timing when dominated by evaporation. Consequently, precipitation starts earlier and clouds decrease the incoming solar radiation. In summary, the changes in surface properties by pasture degradation found on the highland have a significant influence on larger scales.
License of this version: CC BY 3.0 Unported
Document Type: Article
Publishing status: publishedVersion
Issue Date: 2014
Appears in Collections:Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät

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pos. country downloads
total perc.
1 image of flag of Germany Germany 188 50.81%
2 image of flag of China China 83 22.43%
3 image of flag of United States United States 43 11.62%
4 image of flag of Netherlands Netherlands 9 2.43%
5 image of flag of Brazil Brazil 7 1.89%
6 image of flag of No geo information available No geo information available 3 0.81%
7 image of flag of Japan Japan 3 0.81%
8 image of flag of Canada Canada 3 0.81%
9 image of flag of Austria Austria 3 0.81%
10 image of flag of Russian Federation Russian Federation 2 0.54%
    other countries 26 7.03%

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