Assessment of the vulnerability of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

ABSTRACT: Assessing ecosystem vulnerability to climate change is critical for sustainable and adaptive ecosystem management. Alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are considered to be vulnerable to climate change, yet the ecosystem tends to maintain stability by increasing resilience and decreasing sensitivity. To date, the spatial pattern of grassland vulnerability to climate change and the mechanisms that vegetation applies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on grasslands by altering relevant ecosystem characteristics, especially sensitivity and resilience, remain unknown. In this study, we first assessed the spatial pattern of grassland vulnerability to climate change by integrating exposure, sensitivity, and resilience simultaneously, and then identified its driving forces. The

SUBMITTER: Li M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7007972 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature