Local residents’ perceptions of climate and ecological changes in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The Tibetan Plateau is highly sensitive to climate change. Knowing local Tibetans’ perceptions of climate and ecological changes is important for exploring the climate and vegetation changes in this vast and remote plateau. We interviewed residents in three counties, Dege, Seda, and Ruoergai, on the eastern Tibetan Plateau and analyzed their perceptions of climate and ecological changes; then, we compared the results with those from instrumental observations. The results showed that residents are sensitive to changes in temperature and extreme weather, and the perceptions of temperature change are consistent with meteorological observations. Both remote sensing observations and local perception showed an advanced green-up date in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. More than half of informants perceived an earlier start date and a later end date of Ophiocordyceps sinensis harvesting, which indicated an advance of vegetation spring phenology and a possibly upward distribution extension in elevation under climate warming, respectively. The results also indicated that it is necessary to explore the vegetation phenology of the Tibetan Plateau from the perspective of sub-regions. More research on the views of environmental change should be carried out in different sub-regions of the Tibetan Plateau, and the interrelationship between perceptions is also worth exploring.