Climatic causes of ecological and environmental variations in the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers of China

Abstract

In the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers of China, glaciers, frozen ground, the hydrological system, and alpine vegetation have changed over the past decades years. Climatic causes of these variations have been analyzed using mean monthly air temperature and monthly precipitation between 1956 and 2000, and monthly evaporation from φ20 evaporation pans between 1961 and 1996. In the source region of the Yangtze River, lower temperature and plentiful precipitation during the 1960s and continuing into the early 1980s triggered a glacier advance that culminated in the early 1990s, while a robust temperature increase and precipitation decrease since 1986 has forced glaciers to retreat rapidly since 1995. Permafrost degradation is another consequence of the climatic warming. The variations in the hydrological system and alpine vegetation are controlled mainly by the climate during the warm season. Warmer and drier summer climate is the major cause of a degradation of the vegetation, desiccation of the high-cold marshland, a decrease in the areas and numbers of lakes and rivers in the middle and north source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, and a reduction in surface runoff in the source region of the Yangtze River for the last 20 years. The causes of eco-environmental change in Dari area, near the outlet from the source area of the Yellow River, are different from those elsewhere in the study area. A noticeable reduction in runoff in the source region of the Yellow River and degradation of alpine vegetation in Dari area are closely related to the permafrost degradation resulting from climate warming.