Spatial and Temporal Changes of Wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau Between 1990 and 2020
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Highly sensitive to climate change and glacier melt, alpine wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau have important implications for carbon storage and animal habitat. However, long-term accurate mapping and changes of wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau remain knowledge gaps. Here, we qualify wetlands' spatial and temporal changes between 1990 and 2020 using Landsat imagery with an optimized random forest model. We find that the total area of marsh, floodplain, and swamp wetlands was approximately 8.25 × 104(2.68% of the plateau area), 6.99 × 104(2.27%), and 8.47 × 104km2(2.75%) in 1990, 2000, and 2020, respectively. The total area of wetlands decreased by about 1.29 × 104km2(−15.7%) between 1990 and 2000 but increased by about 1.52 × 104km2(21.7%) between 2000 and 2020. Marsh and floodplain wetlands show a decrease followed by an increase, while swamps continue to increase. The high-density wetlands are mainly distributed in the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, especially with marsh and floodplain wetlands >40%, and Brahmaputra high-density swamps ∼40%. Conversion of wetland types occurred in a relatively high proportion of all periods, but there was a gradual downward trend. The proportion of conversions from wetlands to nonwetlands decreased and the proportion of conversions within wetlands increased. This study elucidates the distribution characteristics, area change, and type conversion of wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau, which provides scientific support for the development and use of alpine wetlands and governmental risk decision making.
Authors: Mengjie Zhao, Guoqing Zhang, Xiaoran Han, Tao Zhou, Fenglin Xu, Chenqian Tang
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Climate action, Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,496
OpenAlex ID: W4404238627