Remote Sensing Monitoring of the Subalpine Coniferous Forests and Quantitative Analysis of the Characteristics of Succession in East Mountain Area of Tibetan Plateau——A Case Study With Zamtang County

The study area lies in the Dadu River drainage area in upstream Yangtze River.The spatial distribution of subalpine coniferous forests in 1989 and 2009 was extracted by means of a combined method of object orientation and visual interpretation,and then the overlaying analysis of these data was conducted.The type and spatial location of succession were discovered and served as the sample of dependant variable.Meanwhile,supported by GIS technology and based on DEM and thematic data,the eight variables including altitude,slope,sin and cosin of aspect,curvity of land surface,and distance to residential area,cultivated land and road were extracted served as the sample of spatial succession of subalpine coniferous forests to fit Logistic Regression,and then the contribution of each independent variable as well as the spatial property of the occurrence probability of succession was calculated.The results suggested that,during the succession of subalpine coniferous forests to meadow,the closer to the residential area and cultivated land,the greater the contribution to succession is.In particular,when the distance to the residential area decreases by one unit,the probability for its conversion to meadow will be increased by 1.15 times.During the succession of subalpine coniferous forests to deciduous-broadleaved shrubs,the sin of aspect and distance to residential area contribute more,and the probability of succession increases with increasing degree of northwardness,i.e.when the degree of northwardness increases by one unit,the probability will be increased by 1.2 times.The quantitative analysis of spatial succession property of subalpine coniferous forests will supply scientific basis to the protection and restoration of subalpine coniferous forests.

Design of Plateau and Mountain Ethnic Settlements with Adaptive Spatial Features:A Case Study of Jiayin Town

Jiayin Town,Honghe Prefecture,Yunnan Province is composed of four elements,forest,water,farmland and village.The highly adaptive human settlement environmental features of ecologyproduction-living space reflect the adaptability of ethnic settlements on plateaus and mountains to the natural environment and geographical conditions.In this article,based on the unique natural environment and regional characteristics of Jiayin Town,the background features of the human settlement environment,the features of altitude,slope and aspect,the spatial features of forests and grasslands and the features of farmland and villages were analyzed,and design concepts of coordinating and integrating the development of ecology-production-living space,integrating and transforming natural resources into human settlement environmental resources and establishing village public awareness and the design strategies of cultivating culture with life and adopting things with rural quality were proposed,in order to provide scientifi c basis for the protection and development of the plateau and mountain ethnic villages and ensure their harmonious and orderly development.

Spatio-temporal evolution of Allium L. in the Qinghaie-Tibet-Plateau region: Immigration and in situ radiation

A plethora of studies investigating the origin and evolution of diverse mountain taxa has assumed a causal link between geological processes （orogenesis） and a biological response （diversification）. Yet, a substantial delay （up to 30 Myr） between the start of orogenesis and diversification is often observed. Evolutionary biologists should therefore identify alternative drivers of diversification and maintenance of biodiversity in mountain systems. Using phylogenetic, biogeographic, and diversification rate analyses, we could identify two independent processes that most likely explain the diversity of the widespread genus Allium in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau （QTP） region： （1） While the QTP-related taxa of the subgenus Melanocrommyum diversified in situ, （2） QTP-related taxa of other subgenera migrated into the QTP from multiple source areas. Furthermore, shifts in diversification rates within Allium could not be attributed spatially and temporally to the uplift history of the QTP region. Instead, global cooling and climate oscillations in the Quaternary were major contributors to increased speciation rates in three clades of AUium. Our study therefore adds to the growing evidence supporting the ＂mountain-geo-biodiversity hypothesis＂, which highlights the role of climate oscillations for the diversification of mountain organisms.

Geochemical Information Indicating the Water Recharge to Lakes and Immovable Megadunes in the Badain Jaran Desert

Calc-sintersdistributed in the middle of lakes and rhizoconcretions scattered at the slopes of sand dunes were observed during three explorations to the Badain Jaran Desert in the past two years. Wet sands were also found underneath the dry surface sand layers of about 20-50 cm in thickness. The geochemical parameters were measured on minerals and water samples collected from the Badain Jaran Desert and neighboring areas. The results show that the water system in the desert may be recharged from the groundwater originating from the precipitation of the Qilian Mountains and/or the Tibetan Plateau rather than the local rainfalls.

Protecting wild yak (Bos mutus) species and preventing its hybrid in China

China has made efforts to protect wild yak （Bos mutus） species and prevent the hybrids between wild yak and domestic yak （Bos grunniens） species.At present,wild yak population of a reasonable estimate would be over 70,000.Due to conservation efforts in environmental protection and ecological construction such as the Wildlife Protection and Nature Reserve Construction Project,the ＂Grain-for-Green＂ Project and the Natural Forest Resources Protection Project,the number of wild yaks is increasing.In general,Tibetan Plateau＇s ecosystem is getting better and its environmental quality shows a gradual improving trend.Tibetan Plateau is one of the world＇s cleanest regions called as the ＂Third Pole＂.In order to preserve the genetic pool of wild yaks,local pastoralists and polices drive off the wild male yaks from the domestic yak herds by making noise （banging washbasins,pots,etc.） or driving cars.Local government also incentivizes the culling of domestic yaks found in wild herds.For the sake of the biological and genetic features of this wild species,and the pastoralist way of life,wild yaks should continuously be protected to keep their genetic integrity.We appeal plans to investigate the gene pollution of wild yaks in some important distribution regions of this species.In the face of hybridizing with domestic yaks,proper guidance is urgently needed to address genetic pollution and protect the genetic integrity of wild yaks.

Kunming:City of Perpetual Spring

KUNMING,the capital of Yunnan Province,sits on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in southwestern China.A pivotal city in the region,and China’s gateway to Southeast and South Asia,for two millennia or more Kunming was a hub on the Southern Silk Road where merchants plied their trade and cultural and political exchanges took place.

DYNAMIC INFLUENCE OF QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU AND ROCKY MOUNTAINS ON THE LEE CYCLONES

Using the operational model(B model)of Beijing Meteorological Center,we do some of numerical experi- ments of crossing and rounding mountains in all velocity adjustment scheme,and study dynamic effect of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and Rocky Mountains on lee cyclones.The results show that due to air flow round the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau,divergence is distributed in the shape of confluence which matches cyclogenesis area and cyclonic track in East Asia.In the downstream of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau,convergence in the upper troposphere restrains cyclone development in the east of China mainland.In North America, air flow primarily crosses over Rocky Mountains.Air is adiabatically cooled when it flows upward in the west flank of Rocky Mountains,while air is warmed when it flows downward in the lee side.The fact is important for the lee cyclogenesis and the lee frontogenesis of Rocky Mountains.Air flow crossing over Rocky Mountains is also the main cause for forming dryline in the mid-west of United States.

Paleogene-Neogene stratigraphic realm and tectonic-sedimentary evolution of the Qilian Mountains and their surrounding areas

The Cenozoic uplift of Qilian Mountains is critical to comprehend the uplift and extension of the Tibet Plateau as well as the formation of the first and second steps in China's topography. This study summarized dynamic stratigraphic realm comprehensively on the basis of stratigraphic correlation of different Cenozoic sedimentary basin regions of the Qilian Mountains and adjacent mountains. This facilitated the re-creation of the tectonic-sedimentary evolutionary process of the Qilian Mountains and their surrounding areas. The results indicate that during the Early Paleogene(Paleocene-Eocene), the Qilian Mountains were part of an uplift realm. During the Oligocene, Guide-Xining-Lanzhou-Linxia sag basin at the northern margin of the West Qinling Mountains came into being and was subjected to sedimentation. The Suli Basin located between the North and South Qilian paleo-uplifts began to form and undergo sedimentation. Intracontinental orogenic extrusion and basin detachment occurred at the Qilian Mountains during the Miocene, which caused successive uplifts of various mountains, including the Laji, South Qinghai,Jishi, Liupan, and South Shule Mountains. Until Pliocene, Qilian Mountains uplifted continuously and resulted in the shrink,extinction and being eroded of the basins, and aeolian red clay started to accumulate.

Challenges of snow leopard conservation in China

The snow leopard（Panthera uncial,Figure 1A）is a kind of beautiful big cat that is believed to originate on the Tibetan Plateau seven million years ago（Tseng et al.,2013）,and now inhabits alpine and subalpine zones in the remote and rugged mountains on the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding mountain ranges.