ABSTRACT: Plant functional groups (PFGs) have been increasingly introduced in land degradation (LD) studies; however, it is unclear whether PFGs can indicate LD. Here, we selected five different degraded lands (i.e., pristine and, lightly, moderately, seriously and extremely degraded) higher than 4650 m on the Tibetan Plateau. In addition, we investigated floristic metrics (i.e., composition, height, cover, biomass and abundance) and soil conditions (e.g., moisture, temperature and gravel ratio) by sampling 225 subplots. We found 75 vascular plants that consist of sedges (Cyperaceae), grasses (Gramineae), legumes, forbs, cushion plants and shrubs PFGs. LD dramatically deteriorated soil conditions, vegetation cover and productivity, however, improved species diversity. Moreover, cover and productivit
