Alpine steppe

The Alpine-steppe is a high altitude natural alpine grassland, which is a part of the Montane grasslands and shrublands biome.

Alpine-steppes are unique ecosystems found throughout the world, especially in Asia, where they make up 38.9% of the total Tibetan plateau grassland's area.

Alpine grasslands, like the Alpine-steppe, are characterized by their intense radiation, with direct solar radiation periods averaging 2916 hours annually. The average temperature in this ecosystem is very low. For example, they may experience temperatures around -10 °C in winter, and 10 °C in summer. Winters also tend to be long and cold, and summers are mild and short. This ecosystem also experiences year-long frost, with no reported frost-free season.

The annual rates of precipitation in Alpine-steppes are very low, with mean ranges falling anywhere between 280 to 300 mm. In addition, upwards to 80% of this falls between the months of May and September, causing the climate to be arid or semi-arid, making the environment much harsher for plant & livestock life.

Vegetation in the alpine steppe is very vulnerable to climate change. Average air temperature has been increasing by approximately 0.3 degrees Celsius every ten years since the 1960’s. This is three times the global average, indicating the sensitivity of this area. Studies have been done that show that the spread of vegetation has changed dramatically since the Holocene period. The Tibetan Plateau is composed of three main regions, based on yearly precipitation levels and types of vegetation, namely the alpine meadow, alpine steppe, and the alpine desert-steppe. Since the Holocene, studies of fossil pollen records have shown that the alpine meadow has extended into areas that were previously alpine steppe as precipitation increased during that period. There is a unimodal pattern across precipitation and vegetation rain use efficiency (RUE), with an increasing trend in Alpine-steppe regions. RUE is lower here compared to the alpine meadow because of differences in species richness, soil texture, and soil carbon content.

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