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The Vegetation Zonation of the Tibetan Plateau

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The Vegetation Zonation of the Tibetan Plateau MountainResearch and Development,Vol. 1, No. 1, 1981, pp. 29-48 THE VEGETATIONZONATION OF THE TIBETANPLATEAU D.H.S. CHANG* August1st Agricultural College Xinjiang,China ABSTRACT Fromthe first extensive study of thevegetation of Tibet it is concludedthat neither the traditional altitudinal nor low- land latitudinalzonations can be applied. A specialcase of "highplateau zonation"is proposed.The Tibetan vegetationalplateau zones are as followsfrom southeast to northwest:montane forest; high-cold meadow; high-coldsteppe; semi-desert; and high-cold desert.This formationhas resultedfrom the geologicallyrecent massive uplift of the plateau and itsimpact on theatmospheric cir- culation. The SouthwestMonsoon exertsa major influenceon the tropicaland subtropicalforest zones. The main level of the plateau,however, is controlledby theTibetan High and theWesterlies. The Julymean isothermsof 9?C (in thewest) and 11?C (in the east) are the determinant"high-cold" vegetation lines. The boundarybetween steppe and meadow closelycoincides with the 400 mm annual isohyetin the northand the 500 mm isohyetin the south.The transitionbetween steppe and desertapproximates the 100 mmisohyet. Because of itsspecial vegetational characteristics the Tibetan Plateau mustbe recognizedas an independentregion; the montane forestzone, in contrast,is partof the Eastern and SoutheasternAsiatic subtropical and tropicalforest regions. Tibet is situatedat the "crossroads"of the vegetation regions of the Old Worldand is thekey to an understandingof the geographic zonality and regionalism ofAsiatic vegetation. This newknowledge is also importantas a basis forrational exploitation of renewable natural resources. RESUMELe zonagede la vegetationduPlateau Thibetain. A la suitede la premiereetude poussee de la vegetationdu Thibet,on peutcon- clureque ni le zonage altitudinairetraditionnel, ni le zonage latitudinairedes regionsbasses ne s'appliquentici. Un cas specialde "zonage de hauts plateaux"est avance. Les zones de vegetationdu plateau Thibetainsont les suivantes,du sud-estau nord-ouest: foretalpine, herbageshauts-froids; steppes hautes-froides; semi-desert; et deserthaut-froid. Cette formationest le resultatd'un soulevementmassif du plateau a une epoque recenteet de son impactsur la circulationatmospherique. La Mousson du Sud-Ouest exerce une influencemajeure sur les zones forestierestropicales et subtropicales.Neanmoins, le climatau niveau principaldu plateau est determinepar l'anticycloneThibetain et les ventsd'Ouest. Les isothermesmoyennes de juilleta 9?C (a l'Ouest) et 11?C (a l'Est) determinenten grandepartie les lignesde vegetation"haute-froide." La demarcationentre les steppeset les herbagescoin- cide presqueavec l'isohyeteannuelle de 400 mm au Nord et l'isohyetede 500 mm au Sud. La transitionentre les steppeset le desert estapproximativement a l'isohyete de 100 mm. A cause des caracteristiquesparticulieres de sa vegetation,le Plateau Thibetainse doit d'etrereconnu comme une regioninde- pendente;par contre,la zone de foretalpine faitpartie des regionsforestieres tropicales et subtropicalesde l'Asiede l'Estet du Sud- Est. Le Thibetest situeau "carrefour"des regionsde vegetationdu Vieux Monde; il estla clefd'une bonne comprehension du zonage geographiqueet de regionalismede la vegetationasiatique. Ces nouvellesconnaissances sont egalement importantes en tantque fon- dationpour une exploitationrationnelle des ressourcesnaturelles renouvelables. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Einteilungin Vegetationszonendestibetischen Plateau. Aus der erstenumfassenden Studie iber die Vegetationin Tibet ergibtsich, dafi weder die herk6mmlicheEinteilung nach Hohenlagenzonennoch nach Tiefland-Breitenangewendet werden kann. Eine besondere"Hochland-Zonierung" wird vorgeschlagen.Die Vegetationsgurteldes tibetischenHochlandes sind vom Siidostenzum Nordwestenhin folgende:Gebirgswald, hoch-kalte Wiesen und hoch-kalteSteppe, Halbwiisteund Wuste. Diese Gliederungist durch die geologischjiingste Erhebung des Plateausund derenFolgen auf die Luftstromungentstanden. Der Sudwest Monsun ubt einenbetrachtlichen Einfluf auf die tropischenund subtropischenWaldzonen aus. Das tibetischeHoch und Westwinde (Westerlies)beherrschen das Hauptgebietdes Plateaus. Die'mittlerenJuli-Temperaturlinienvon 9?C im Westenund 11?C in Osten bestimmendie hoch-kaltenVegetationsgrenzen. Die Grenzezwischen Steppe und Wiesenlandliegt im Nordenan der 400 mmLinie derJahresniederschlagsmenge und im Suden an der 500 mm Linie. Der Ubergangvon Steppe in Wiisteliegt ungefahr bei einem Jahresniederschlagvon 100 mm. Wegen seinerbesonderen Vegetationseigenschaften mufi die tibetischeHochebene als selbststandigeRegion angesehenwerden, die Gebirgswaldzonehingegen ist Teil der 6stlich-sid6stlichen,subtropischen und tropischenWaldzonen. Tibet liegtam Scheide- punktder Vegetationszonender "alten Welt" und ist der Schliisselzum Verstandnisder geographischenZoneneinteilung und regionalenAufteilung der asiatischenVegetation. Solches Wissen dient aufierdem als Grundlagefur eine vernunftigeAusnutzung dererneuerbaren Naturschiitze. *Presentaddress: Section of Ecology and Systematics,Division of BiologicalSciences, Cornell University,Ithaca, New York 14850. This content downloaded from 114.255.218.17 on Tue, 24 Mar 2015 08:06:43 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 30 / MOUNTAIN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INTRODUCTION In thepast, there was littleknowledge about the vegeta- vegetationtypes, basic characteristics,and ecological tion and ecological conditionsof Tibet, the highest, environments.This has also led to a morecomplete com- largest,and youngestplateau on earth.Tibet had been prehensionof the relationshipsbetween the vegetation of considered a morainal plateau mainly occupied by the Plateau and that of the surroundingareas. These monotonouscold desert.Through an investigationof the relateto importantproblems in phytogeographyand will Plateau by the InterdisciplinaryScientific Expedition of also have significancefor the rationalexploitation and Academia Sinica in recentyears, we now have a new managementof vegetation resources. This paperattempts understandingof the differentiationof vegetationzones, a generalstatement of this recent understanding. PLATEAU ZONALITY OF THE VEGETATION IN TIBET During the Quaternaryperiod, the Tibetan Plateau situatedclose to sea-level,should receivethe standard underwentthe greatestchanges of any region in the amountof light and heatfrom solar radiation, and should world.Since theNeogene a seriesof enormous and drastic have moistureconditions typical of the atmosphericcir- geologic and climaticevents has occurred.The Indian culationsof the givenlatitude and continentality.Where plate collidedwith the Eurasian plate; the highestmoun- thealtitude is greater,the vegetation should belong to the tain and plateau regionin the worldarose fromthe an- mountainvertical vegetation or the plateau vegetation. cient sea, the Tethys Sea, whichwas forcedfar to the There is notyet a generallyaccepted limit to theelevation west; atmosphericcirculations changed their routes, and of horizontalzones, and also it is impossibleto definea some new systemswere formed;and mountainglaciers uniformstandard for the whole earth. Murry (see Good, progressedand withdrewrepeatedly. As a resultof these 1964) generallydefined this limitas 3,000 ft (approxi- changes,large-scale movement and exchangetook place mately1,000 m). Makeev (1956) consideredthat the gen- in thefloras and vegetationson thePlateau. Afterpassing eral climaticstructure of a lowlandmay not exceed to 700 throughthis period of harshnatural selection and evolu- to 1,000 m on average,and thisis just the limitof hori- tion, some of the specializedyoung plateau vegetation zontalzones. But thelimit will vary in differentlatitudes typesemerged; for instance, the high-cold desert, steppe, and climaticregions. Generally, its height increases from and meadow. But thereremain some ancientforest vege- near sea-level in the Arctic to about 1,500 m at the tationtypes which have been re-establishedsomewhat to Equator. It will reach its highestlimit, however, in the the south. In particular,the vegetationalgradient or subtropicalzone, especiallyin continentalclimatic re- zonal systemnow peculiar to thePlateau developed. gions, where it may reach up to about 2,000 m. The Past treatmentsof the Tibetan vegetationhave been moisture-heatindex would still be in therange of the hori- undertakenby Liu Shen-E (1934), Ward (1935), Zhong zontalzone in thelowland, and the same typeof vegeta- Bu-Qiu (1954), Schweinfurth(1957), and others.In re- tion as the horizontalzone would be presentup to that cent years,Zhang Jing-Weiand Wang Jin-Ting(1963, limit.As the elevationexceeds 1,500 to 2,000 m, a ver- 1966) proposedthe conceptof horizontalzonal differen- tical zonation of the climate, the vegetation,and the tiationof the vegetationon the Tibetan Plateau. They wholebiota (all of whichchange with increasing altitude) pointedout thatthere is a vegetationgradient from the ensues.A verticalzonation of the vegetation which differs southeastto the northwestas follows:meadow-steppe fromthe horizontalvegetation on the plains or in low zone, plateau steppe zone, desert-steppezone, and mountainsis formed. plateau desertzone. Zheng Du et al. (1975) also men- The Tibetan Plateau reachesgreat heights. Its mean tioned that the patternof the horizontalzones which elevationexceeds 4,500 m and it extendsupwards about changed fromsoutheast to northwestwas mainlydeter- half-waythrough the troposphere.Atmospheric pressure
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