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  • Review Article
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Carbon and nitrogen cycling on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment volume 3, pages 701–716 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) has experienced atmospheric warming, cryosphere thaw and intensified human activities since the 1970s. These changes have had sometimes striking impacts on the hydrology, ecosystems and biogeochemistry of the region. In this Review, we describe carbon and nitrogen cycling on the QTP. Overall, the QTP has been a net carbon sink (with a net carbon balance of ~44 million tons of carbon uptake per year) and a methane source (~0.96 trillion grams per year of carbon in the form of methane, Tg CH4-C yr−1) since the 2000s. Rising temperatures, precipitation and nitrogen availability drive primary productivity increases, leading to increased carbon uptake. Conversely, these factors also increase greenhouse gas emissions, soil respiration rates and permafrost carbon mobilization, increasing carbon loss. Anthropogenic activities such as overgrazing and construction decrease plant production and soil carbon and nitrogen stocks, but restoration efforts on the QTP drive regional increases in these stocks. On balance, these changes are complex but largely offset each other. In the future, the QTP is predicted to still function as a net carbon sink, despite ongoing severe permafrost degradation. Moreover, nitrogen stocks are expected to remain relatively stable, partly related to potential future decreases in nitrogen deposition.

Key points

  • Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau soils contain substantial carbon and nitrogen stocks, with >48 Pg carbon estimated in the upper 1 m of soil.

  • Net ecosystem productivity (NEP) has increased as a result of climate change and restoration. As the increases in NEP surpass the increases in carbon losses (methane (CH4) emission, output to and outgassing from waters), the QTP acts as a net carbon sink at a rate of ~44 million tons of carbon per year.

  • Wetlands and waters are main sources of QTP CH4 emissions, but rising CH4 emissions are partly offset by increased uptake by grasslands, suggesting that the QTP is a CH4 source around 0.96 Tg CH4-C yr−1.

  • Warming on the QTP relieves temperature limitation and nitrogen limitation of alpine plant growth, driving increased plant growth; variable precipitation associated with warming regulates the warming effect through altering soil moisture.

  • Sustainable grazing decreases aboveground biomass and increases soil respiration, but contributes to soil carbon and nitrogen stocks through biomass and nitrogen-rich excrement input into soils; this effect of grazing can be partly offset by warming.

  • Heavy grazing and severe permafrost thaw drives substantial carbon and nitrogen loss through increased erosion and soil organic carbon mineralization, and decreased plant carbon input; climate change further strengthens this effect.

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Fig. 1: Physical and anthropogenic changes on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau.
Fig. 2: Carbon and nitrogen stocks on the QTP.
Fig. 3: Carbon and nitrogen fluxes on the QTP.
Fig. 4: Drivers of changes in carbon and nitrogen cycling on the QTP.
Fig. 5: Adaptation and mitigation on the QTP.

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Acknowledgements

We thank H. Yin, J. Zhang and X. Liu for providing data, and J. Liu, Y. He, D. Zhu, G. Yang, D. Xue, L. Liu and X. Huang for providing insights. We give special thanks to W. Xiong for her careful editing of the draft. This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA2005010404), the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition (2019QZKK0304).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China

    Huai Chen, Peijun Ju, Ning Wu & Yongheng Gao

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Peijun Ju

  3. College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, China

    Qiuan Zhu

  4. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, China

    Xingliang Xu, Shuli Niu & Yangjian Zhang

  5. Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Xiaojuan Feng & Jianqing Tian

  6. School of Geographic Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China

    Changhui Peng

  7. Institute of Environment Sciences, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    Changhui Peng

  8. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yanfen Wang

  9. State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yanfen Wang

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Contributions

H.C. conceived the ideas and designed the review framework. Q.Z. and P.J assisted with data collation and figures. N.W., Y.G., X.F., J.T., S.N., Y.Z. and C.P. provided research experience and opinions, and helped to improve the writing of the paper. H.C., Y.W., P.J. and X.X. led the writing of the manuscript. Other authors contributed to the drafts and revision. All authors gave the final approval for publication.

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Chen, H., Ju, P., Zhu, Q. et al. Carbon and nitrogen cycling on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Nat Rev Earth Environ 3, 701–716 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00344-2

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