doi:10.1007/s00376-018-7064-3

Babel, W., and Coauthors, 2014: Pasture degradation modifies the water and carbon cycles of the Tibetan highlands. Biogeosciences, 11(23), 6633-6656, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6633-2014.

Beck, P. S. A., and Coauthors, 2011: Changes in forest productivity across Alaska consistent with biome shift. Ecology Letters, 14, 373-379, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01598.x.

Bigler C.,D. G. Gavin, C. Gunning, and T. T. Veblen, 2007: Drought induces lagged tree mortality in a subalpine forest in the Rocky Mountains. Oikos, 116, 1983-1994, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.16034.x.

Brady N. C., and R. R. Weil, 1999: Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, p53- p56.

Buermann W.,B. Parida, M. Jung, G. M. MacDonald, C. J. Tucker, and M. Reichstein, 2014: Recent shift in Eurasian boreal forest greening response may be associated with warmer and drier summers. Geophys. Res. Lett., 41(6), 1995-2002, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL059450.

Che, M. L., and Coauthors, 2014: Spatial and temporal variations in the end date of the vegetation growing season throughout the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from 1982 to 2011. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 189-190, 81-90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.01.004.

Chen, B., and Coauthors, 2014a: Changes in vegetation photosynthetic activity trends across the Asia-Pacific region over the last three decades. Remote Sensing of Environment, 144, 28-41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.12.018.

Chen B. X.,X. Z. Zhang, J. Tao, J. S. Wu, J. S. Wang, P. L. Shi, Y. J. Zhang, and C. Q. Yu, 2014b: The impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on alpine grassland over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 189-190, 11-18, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.01.002.

Chen, H., and Coauthors, 2013: The impacts of climate change and human activities on biogeochemical cycles on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Global Change Biology, 19(10), 2940-2955, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12277.

Chen H.,Q. Zhu, N. Wu, Y. F. Wang, and C.-H. Peng, 2011: Delayed spring phenology on the Tibetan Plateau may also be attributable to other factors than winter and spring warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(19), E93, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1100091108.

Cheng G. D., and T. H. Wu, 2007: Responses of permafrost to climate change and their environmental significance, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. J. Geophys. Res., 112, F02S03, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000631.

Cui X. F., and H.-F. Graf, 2009: Recent land cover changes on the Tibetan Plateau: A review. Climatic Change, 94, 47-61, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-009-9556-8.

Ding M. J.,Y. L. Zhang, L. S. Liu, W. Zhang, Z. F. Wang, and W. Q. Bai, 2007: The relationship between NDVI and precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 17(3), 259-268, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-007-0259-7.

Gao Q. Z.,Y. Li, Y. F. Wan, X. B. Qin, W. Z. Jiangcun, and Y. H. Liu, 2009: Dynamics of alpine grassland NPP and its response to climate change in Northern Tibet. Climatic Change, 97, 515-528, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-009-9617-z.

Gao Y. H.,X. Zhou, Q. Wang, C. Z. Wang, Z. M. Zhan, L. F. Chen, J. X. Yan, and R. Qu, 2013: Vegetation net primary productivity and its response to climate change during 2001-2008 in the Tibetan Plateau. Science of the Total Environment, 444, 356-362, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.12.014.

Goward S. N.,C. J. Tucker, and D. G. Dye, 1985: North American vegetation patterns observed with the NOAA-7 advanced very high resolution radiometer. Vegetatio, 64, 3-14, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00033449.

Gu S.,Y. H. Tang, X. Y. Cui, T. Kato, M. Y. Du, Y. N. Li, and X. Q. Zhao, 2005: Energy exchange between the atmosphere and a meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 129, 175-185, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2004.12.002.

Herrmann S. M.,A. Anyamba, and C. T. Tucker, 2005: Recent trends in vegetation dynamics in the African Sahel and their relationship to climate. Global Environmental Change, 15, 394-404, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2005.08.004.

Holben B. N.,1986: Characteristics of maximum-value composite images from temporal AVHRR data. Int. J. Remote Sens., 7, 1417-1434, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431168608948945.

Hsu H.-H., and X. Liu, 2003: Relationship between the Tibetan Plateau heating and East Asian summer monsoon rainfall. Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, D2066, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL017909.

Hua T.,X. M. Wang, Z. Ci, L. L. Lang, and C. X. Zhang, 2015: Responses of vegetation activity to climate variation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (China) from 1982 to 2011. Climate Research, 66, 65-73, https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01333.

Immerzeel W. W., L. P. H. van Beek, and M. F. P. Bierkens, 2010: Climate change will affect the Asian water towers. Science, 328, 1382-1385, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1183188.

Kato T.,Y. H. Tang, S. Gu, M. Hirota, M. Y. Du, Y. N. Li, and X. Q. Zhao, 2006: Temperature and biomass influences on interannual changes in CO₂ exchange in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Global Change Biology, 12, 1285-1298, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01153.x.

Keenan T. F.,D. Y Hollinger, G. Bohrer, D. Dragoni, J. W. Munger, H. P. Schmid, and A. D. Richardson, 2013: Increase in forest water-use efficiency as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations rise. Nature, 499, 324-327, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12291.

Li Q., and Y. K. Xue, 2010: Simulated impacts of land cover change on summer climate in the Tibetan Plateau. Environmental Research Letters, 5(1), 015102, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/015102.

Li Y. Y.,S. K. Dong, L. Wen, X. X. Wang, and Y. Wu, 2013: The effects of fencing on carbon stocks in the degraded alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Environmental Management, 128, 393-399, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.05.058.

Liu G.,H. Y. Liu, and Y. Yin, 2013: Global patterns of NDVI-indicated vegetation extremes and their sensitivity to climate extremes. Environmental Research Letters, 8, 025009, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/025009.

Liu X. D.,Z. Y. Yin, X. M. Shao, and N. S. Qin, 2006: Temporal trends and variability of daily maximum and minimum, extreme temperature events, and growing season length over the eastern and central Tibetan Plateau during 1961-2003. J. Geophys. Res., 111, D19109, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006915.

Lloret F.,A. Lobo, H. Estevan, P. Maisongrand e, J. Vayreda, and J. Terradas, 2007: Woody plant richness and NDVI response to drought events in Catalonian (northeastern Spain) forest. Ecology, 88, 2270-2279, https://doi.org/10.1890/06-1195.1.

Mitchell T. D., and P. D. Jones, 2005: An improved method of constructing a database of monthly climate observations and associated high-resolution grids. International Journal of Climatology, 25, 693-712, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1181.

Mu, C. C.,and Coauthors, 2016: Carbon loss and chemical changes from permafrost collapse in the northern Tibetan Plateau. J. Geophys. Res., 121, 1781-1791, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003235.

Nemani R. R.,C. D. Keeling, H. Hashimoto, W. M. Jolly, S. C. Piper, C. J. Tucker, R. B. Myneni, and S. W. Running, 2003: Climate-driven increases in global terrestrial net primary production from 1982 to 1999. Science, 300, 1560-1563, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1082750.

Otto M.,C. Höpfner, J. Curio, F. Maussion, and D. Scherer, 2016: Assessing vegetation response to precipitation in northwest Morocco during the last decade: An application of MODIS NDVI and high resolution reanalysis data. Theor. Appl. Climatol., 123, 23-41, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1344-3.

Pang, G, J., X. J. Wang, and M. X. Yang, 2017: Using the NDVI to identify variations in, and responses of, vegetation to climate change on the Tibetan Plateau from 1982 to 2012. Quaternary International, 444, 87-96, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.038.

Piao S. L.,A. Mohammat, J. Y. Fang, Q. Cai, and J. M. Feng, 2006: NDVI-based increase in growth of temperate grasslands and its responses to climate changes in China. Global Environmental Change, 16, 340-348, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.02.002.

Piao S. L.,M. D. Cui, A. P. Chen, X. H. Wang, P. Ciais, J. Liu, and Y. H. Tang, 2011a: Altitude and temperature dependence of change in the spring vegetation green-up date from 1982 to 2006 in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 151, 1599-1608, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2011.06.016.

Piao S. L.,X. H. Wang, P. Ciais, B. Zhu, T. Wang, and J. Liu, 2011b: Changes in satellite-derived vegetation growth trend in temperate and boreal Eurasia from 1982 to 2006. Global Change Biology, 17, 3228-3239, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02419.x.

Pinzon J. E., and C. J. Tucker, 2014: A non-stationary 1981-2012 AVHRR NDVI_3g time series. Remote Sensing, 6, 6929-6960, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs6086929.

Shen M. G.,S. L. Piao, N. Cong, G. X. Zhang, and I. A. Jassens, 2015a: Precipitation impacts on vegetation spring phenology on the Tibetan Plateau. Global Change Biology, 21, 3647-3656, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12961.

Shen, M. G., and Coauthors, 2015b: Evaporative cooling over the Tibetan Plateau induced by vegetation growth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112, 9299-9304, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1504418112.

Shen M. G.,Y. H. Tang, J. Chen, X. L. Zhu, and Y. H. Zheng, 2011: Influences of temperature and precipitation before the growing season on spring phenology in grasslands of the central and eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 151, 1711-1722, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2011.07.003.

Shen M. G.,Z. Z. Sun, S. P. Wang, G. X. Zhang, W. D. Kong, A. P. Chen, and S. L. Piao, 2013: No evidence of continuously advanced green-up dates in the Tibetan Plateau over the last decade. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(26), E2329, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1304625110.

Tucker C. J.,J. E. Pinzon, M. E. Brown, D. A. Slayback, E. W. Pak, R. Mahoney, E. F. Vermote, and N. El Saleous, 2005: An extended AVHRR 8-km NDVI dataset compatible with MODIS and SPOT vegetation NDVI data. Int. J. Remote Sens., 26(20), 4485-4498, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431160500168686.

Wang B.,Q. Bao, B. Hoskins, G. X. Wu, and Y. M. Liu, 2008: Tibetan Plateau warming and precipitation changes in East Asia. Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L14702, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL034330.

Wang G. X.,W. Bai, N. Li, and H. C. Hu, 2011: Climate changes and its impact on tundra ecosystem in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Climatic Change, 106(3), 463-482, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-010-9952-0.

Wang T.,S. S. Peng, X. Lin, and J. F. Chang, 2013: Declining snow cover may affect spring phenological trend on the Tibetan Plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(31), E2853-E2854, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1306157110.

Wu D. H.,X. Zhao, S. L. Liang, T. Zhou, K. C. Huang, B. J. Tang, and W. Q. Zhao, 2015: Time-lag effects of global vegetation responses to climate change. Global Change Biology, 21, 3520-3531, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12945.

Wu, G. X., and Coauthors, 2007: The influence of mechanical and thermal forcing by the Tibetan Plateau on Asian Climate. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 8, 770-789, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM609.1.

Wu X. D.,L. Zhao, H. B. Fang, Y. G. Zhao, J. M. Smoak, Q. Q. Pang, and Y. J. Ding, 2016: Environmental controls on soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in the high-altitude arid western Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau permafrost region. J. Geophys. Res., 121(1), 176-187, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003138.

Xu X. D.,C. G. Lu, X. H. Shi, and S. T. Gao, 2008: World water tower: An atmospheric perspective. Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L20815, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL035867.

Yang, B., and Coauthors, 2017: New perspective on spring vegetation phenology and global climate change based on Tibetan Plateau tree-ring data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114, 6966-6971, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1616608114.

Yao, T. D., and Coauthors, 2012: Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in Tibetan Plateau and surroundings. Nature Climate Change, 2, 663-667, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1580.

Ye D. Z., and Y. X. Gao, 1979: The Meteorology of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau. Sciences Press, Beijing. (in Chinese)

Yi S. H., and Z. Y. Zhao, 2011: Increasing contamination might have delayed spring phenology on the Tibetan Plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(19), E94, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1100394108.

Yu H. Y.,E. Luedeling, and J. C. Xu, 2010: Winter and spring warming result in delayed spring phenology on the Tibetan Plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(51), 22 151-22 156, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1012490107.

Zhang G.,Y. J. Zhang, J. W. Dong, and X. M. Xiao, 2013a: Green-up dates in the Tibetan Plateau have continuously advanced from 1982 to 2011. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(11), 4309-4314, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1210423110.

Zhang L.,H. D. Guo, L. Ji, L. P. Lei, C. Z. Wang, D. M, Yan, B. Li, and J. Li, 2013b: Vegetation greenness trend (2000 to 2009) and the climate controls in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, 7, 073572, https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.7.073572.

Zhang Y. S.,T. Li, and B. Wang, 2004: Decadal change of the spring snow depth over the Tibetan Plateau: The associated circulation and influence on the East Asian summer monsoon. J. Climate, 17, 2780-2793, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<2780:DCOTSS>2.0.CO;2.

Zhao M. S., and S. W. Running, 2010: Drought-induced reduction in global terrestrial net primary production from 2000 through 2009. Science, 329, 940-943, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1192666.

Zheng D.,1996: The system of physico-geographical regions of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau. Science in China (Series D), 39(4) 410-417, https://doi.org/10.1360/yd1996-39-4-410.

Zhong L.,Y. M. Ma, M. S. Salama, and Z. B. Su, 2010: Assessment of vegetation dynamics and their response to variations in precipitation and temperature in the Tibetan Plateau. Climatic Change, 103, 519-535, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-009-9787-8.

Zhou D. W.,G. Z. Fan, R. H. Huang, Z. F. Fang, Y. Q. Liu, and H. Q. Li, 2007: Interannual variability of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index on the Tibetan Plateau and its relationship with climate change. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 24(3), 474-484, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-007-0474-2.