Habitat Variability and Ethnic Diversity in Northern Tibetan Plateau.

ABSTRACT: There are 56 officially-recognized ethnic groups in China. However, the distinct geographic patterns of various ethnic groups in relation to the physical environment in China have rarely been investigated. Based on the geo-referenced physical environmental parameters of 455 Han, Tu, Hui, Salar, Mongolian, and Tibetan communities in Qinghai, we found that the communities could be statistically demarcated by temperature and aridity threshold according to their ethnicity, implying that the geographic distribution of each ethnic group is mediated by the physical environment. We also observed that the habitat of each ethnic group is ecologically compatible with current subsistence strategies. Tibetans settle in cold and humid high-altitude regions owing to the cultivation of highland barley and

SUBMITTER: Jia X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5430525 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature