DISSERTATION CASCADING EFFECTS OF CHANGING CLIMATE AND LAND USE ON ALPINE ECOSYSTEMS AND PASTORAL LIVELIHOODS IN CENTRAL TIBET
Advisor, Julia Klein, Kathleen Galvin, Alan Knapp, Stephen Leisz, Kathy Galvin, Alan Knapp, Steve Leisz, Jianbin Pan, Qianru Wu, Chelsea Morgan, Helen Chmura
(+17 others)
2015
unpublished
CASCADING EFFECTS OF CHANGING CLIMATE AND LAND USE ON ALPINE ECOSYSTEMS AND PASTORAL LIVELIHOODS IN CENTRAL TIBET Changing climate and land use practices are re-shaping the dynamics of social-ecological systems globally, with alpine regions and subsistence-based communities likely to be among the most vulnerable to the impacts of these changes. The Tibetan Plateau exemplifies a system in which climate warming and projected increases in snowfall, coupled with natural resource management policies
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... that reduce livestock herd sizes and mobility, will have cascading effects not only on the livelihoods of local pastoralists, but also on other globally important ecosystem services that Tibet's alpine meadows provide. To improve our understanding of the impacts of altered climate and grazing restrictions in central Tibet, I conducted interviews with local herders about their knowledge of environmental changes and the ways in which this knowledge is produced and transmitted within the community, performed a 5-year climate change and yak grazing experiment, and carried out observational measurements in plant communities around the landscape. I found that herders are well attuned to the changes that are the most threatening to their livelihoods, and they transfer this knowledge of environmental change within their village primarily as a means for seeking adaptive solutions, rather than for learning from others. Results from the experiment and landscape observations corroborate much of the herders' understandings of the factors driving undesirable changes in the alpine meadows. From the experiment, I found positive feedbacks between yaks, vegetation, and nitrogen cycling, indicating that these meadows are well adapted to moderate grazing under ambient climate conditions. However, they are iii particularly sensitive to warming-induced reductions in soil moisture. Although decreased plant production and ecosystem CO2 fluxes with warming were partially mitigated by additional snow before the start of the growing season, results from the landscape observations suggest that in the longer term, climate warming will likely decrease the quantity and quality of forage available to livestock and wildlife, while also reducing the carbon sink strength of alpine meadows in central Tibet. Therefore, my results indicate that instead of continuing to mandate livestock removals, which will do little to reverse undesirable ecological trends, more consideration needs to be given to climate change adaptation strategies for pastoral social-ecological systems in Tibet. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to my advisor, Julia Klein, and to my very supportive committee members, Kathy Galvin, Alan Knapp, and Steve Leisz, for guiding me through my doctoral research. I am thankful that Julia not only invited me to join her team working in Tibet, but that she also recognized the importance of interdisciplinarity and supported my pursuit of diverse academic interests. I am very appreciative that she also included me on other side-projects that have exposed me to new ideas and helped me develop as a scientist and collaborator. I find it fitting that one of the best meetings we ever had was when we were sitting on the ground in a tent at the Namtso horse races, wearing Tibetan dresses, and discussing how to set up a new aspect of our research that summer. I hope that our work together in the mountains continues into the future. each warmly welcomed me into their lab groups and always made me feel like I was one of their students, too. Alan and Kathy took me under their wings from the beginning, and I am immensely grateful for all the guidance they offered over the years. Kathy gave me a foundation with which to start studying social-ecological systems, and her knowledge of and experiences with pastoral cultures inspires me to try to follow in her footsteps. She also provided me with research and networking opportunities that will no doubt continue to open doors for me, for which I am very grateful. No ecological problem was too complex for Alan to unravel after looking at a graph for a few seconds, and my dissertation has become much clearer and stronger in many places as a result of his insights. Steve introduced me to the world of satellite imagery and set my career on a new trajectory. I am confident that the methodological skills and theoretical background I learned from him will carry me far in my work beyond my dissertation. Olds were a tremendous help, and without them this research would never have been finished. I also gratefully acknowledge Tsering Dorje,
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