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Report Brahmatwinn Field Trip Tibet Sept 11-27, 2006

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Report Brahmatwinn Field Trip Tibet Sept 11-27, 2006 GOCE-036952 BrahmaTWinn Field Trip Tibet 2006 Report BrahmaTWinn Field Trip Tibet Sept 11-27, 2006 M. PRASCH, I. STEYL, G. JANAUER, S. LANG, L. DENG, Z. BUKALOWA, L. BHARATI, P. ZEIL Disclaimer. This report has been written as a contribution by the participants of the BrahmaTWinn Field Trip to Tibet. Regarding its nature, it is neither a deliverable nor any other official document of the project. It contains compilation of notes recorded during the field trip and some valuable background information on results, findings, and experiences but also addresses open questions. This comprehensive summary report provides a condensed view of the field work carried by the project team in Tibet and reflects on both the discussions among the participants and the interviews held with local people and stakeholders. For further information please consult the respective project deliverables which offer a more detailed picture on what the single working groups have achieved. Page 1 of 38 GOCE-036952 BrahmaTWinn Field Trip Tibet 2006 Table of Contents 1. Groups organisation and itineraries ..................................................................................................................3 1.1. Group A......................................................................................................................................................4 1.2. Group B......................................................................................................................................................4 1.3. Group C......................................................................................................................................................5 2. Main issues ............................................................................................................................................................6 2.1. Water resources management..................................................................................................................6 2.2. Institutional / legal framework ...............................................................................................................6 2.3. Snow & glacier...........................................................................................................................................8 2.4. Meterological stations ...............................................................................................................................9 2.5. Discharge ....................................................................................................................................................9 2.6. Soils............................................................................................................................................................10 2.7. Permafrost & slope instability ...............................................................................................................12 2.8. Land use / land cover practices ............................................................................................................12 2.8.1. Lhasa – Nyangtri – Phelung .............................................................................................................15 2.8.2. Lhasa – Phodo Dzong - Nyingdrong..............................................................................................19 2.8.3. Lhasa – Nakartse ................................................................................................................................21 2.8.4. Nakartse - Shigatse.............................................................................................................................23 2.8.5. Lhasa – Nam Tso ...............................................................................................................................25 2.9. Wetlands function and groundwater recharge....................................................................................27 2.10. Vulnerability mapping.............................................................................................................................27 3. Discussion and amendment of workplan.......................................................................................................28 4. Data needs...........................................................................................................................................................28 5. Recommended follow-up activities.................................................................................................................29 5.1. Consensus on two reference sites in the Lhasa River Basin.............................................................29 5.2. Scales and level of details .......................................................................................................................29 5.3. Taxonomical determination of aquatic and reed species ..................................................................29 6. References ...........................................................................................................................................................29 7. Annexes ...............................................................................................................................................................30 7.1. Annex 1 – Parameters of meteorological stations, runoff and soil (M Prasch) ............................31 7.2. Biodiversity and Ecohydrology (Georg Janauer) ...................................................................................38 Page 2 of 38 GOCE-036952 BrahmaTWinn Field Trip Tibet 2006 1. Groups organisation and itineraries The first BrahmaTWinn Field Trip took place in Tibet from 9/11 to 9/27, 2006. It has been organised and conducted by Partner 14, the Institute for Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP). The field trip was arranged according to the three (four) thematic groups (TG) of BrahmTWinn. Note that this report is a compiled product from notes taken by the different groups during the field trip. Since sometimes the groups have been merged, or have visited the same sites after each other, the report is structured topic-, but not group- wise. The three groups were assigned a primary thematic focus and a specific route. They were named and guided accordingly as listed below: Route A (TG1): Hydrological Assessment of the Basin – led by Prof. Jingshi Liu Route B (TG2): Hydrobiology and Geohydrology of Wetlands – led by Prof. Shichang Kang Route C (TG3/TG4): Human Dimension and Vulnerability Mapping & Present IWRM and Stakeholder Process – led by Prof. Liping Zhu Figure 1 shows the general routing for all three groups, which have followed these routes in different portions and during different phases of the trip. The idea was to see as much and become acquainted as much as possible with the catchment of the Yarlung Tsangpo (=Upper Brahmaputra) and especially with the sub-catchment of the Kyi Chu (Lhasa River), indicated by the white outline. More specifically, the main routes led to (1) Nam Tso crossing Laken La Pass towards the North, (2) Nyangtri and Nyingdrong towards the East, (3) Nakartse and Yamdruk Yamtso crossing Kamba La Pass towards the South, and finally (4) Shigatse towards the West. The routes thus have covered a considerable part of the Central and Southeastern part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), mainly within the provinces of Ü and Tsang. This part of TAR is the political, historical and agricultural heartland of Tibet. Flanked by the Nyenchen Tanglha mountain range to the North-East, which marks the entrance to the high-altitude plains of the Changtang, the area of Ütsang (the combined provinces of Ü and Tsang) trip is characterised by fertile valleys and a relatively mild climate. Page 3 of 38 GOCE-036952 BrahmaTWinn Field Trip Tibet 2006 Figure 1. routes of the BrahmatWinn Tibet Field Trip. Map compiled by M Prasch; data sources: SRTM 90 m, Landsat ETM mosaic 30(15) m, GPS tracklogs recorded by S Lang. 1.1. Group A Group A has been attended by Partner 2 (LMU), Partner 4 (Z_GIS) and Partner 14 (ITP) (Tab.1). Tab 1: Participants of the field trip in group A. Name Partner Monika Prasch 2 LMU Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany Peter Zeil 4 Z_GIS University of Salzburg, Austria Stefan Lang 4 Z_GIS University of Salzburg, Austria Prof. Jingshi Liu 14 ITP Institute for Tibetan Plateau Research, Beijing, China Feng Chen 14 ITP Institute for Tibetan Plateau Research, Beijing, China Tian Keming 14 ITP Institute for Tibetan Plateau Research, Beijing, China The main focus of partner 2 (LMU) was on the input data for the hydrological model like land use / land cover, soil texture and meteorological data. For modelling hydrographs of the rivers, information about the river bed is required. Furthermore, gauging stations provide measurements for the validation of the model outputs. Under the guidance of ITP, the main objective of Partner 2 was to collect sample data about soils and landcover critical for selecting modelling parameters. Partner 4 (Z_GIS) has focused on land use, land cover issues, ground truth sampling for remote sensing applications and LULC classifications, GPS readings and track-logging. Tab. 2: Detailed plan of the routes of group A Date Route Sept 12 Flight from Beijing to Lhasa Sept 13 Lhasa Meeting; meteorological and gauging station of Lhasa Sept 14 Trip to the east, to Nyangtri Conditions in the eastern region Sept 15 Nyangtri to Phelung ITP forest institute, small turn of ParlungTsangpo Sept
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