Foreword to the special issue: looking into the impacts of global warming from the roof of the world

Abstract

To most people, the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a place full of mystery. It is also mysterious to many ecologists. The vast central Asian plateau lies at an average elevation >4000 m and covers about 370 million km². Spanning the highest range of elevations of any ecosystem in the world makes the plateau unique even among alpine ecosystems due to the presence of extreme abiotic environments: the lowest atmospheric pressure and thus, the lowest partial pressures of CO₂ and O₂, low temperatures and high levels of radiation, including high ultraviolet radiation. Despite the stresses imposed by the environment, ecosystems on the plateau are well-developed and some of them are rich in biodiversity. Even at elevations ∼5200 m, there are extensive and lush alpine meadows but such closed vegetations are rare at similar elevations around the world. Because of the long-term isolation we currently have little knowledge about alpine ecosystems on the plateau.