Qinghai-Tibetan Region Research Articles

Colexification of “thunder” and “dragon” in Sino-Tibetan languages

ABSTRACT This paper explores the colexification of “thunder” and “dragon” in languages spoken in the Qinghai-Tibetan region. A sample of 372 languages from Sino-Tibetan, Dravidian, Indo-European, Mongolic-Khitan, Tungusic, and Turkic was collected. These languages were classified into colexifying and dislexifying languages, depending on whether the two concepts are associated with shared lexical forms. The findings reveal that 47 languages in the sample exhibit thunder-dragon colexification; most of them are Bodic and Na-Qiangic languages, with a few Sinitic, Mongolic, and Turkic languages. This areal pattern results from both inheritance and language contact. For the latter factor, Tibetan influence plays a significant role, as evidenced by the borrowing observed in non-Bodic languages. The linguistic boundary of thunder-dragon colexification aligns with the territory of the historical Tibetan Empire. Moreover, based on historical linguistic reconstruction from Old Chinese, the colexification is a likely feature of Proto-Sino-Tibetan, well preserved in Bodic languages but lost in Sinitic ones. However, some modern Sinitic dialects, particularly the Wu dialects, still maintain the relic connection between “dragon” and “lightning.” Finally, the findings suggest that thunder-dragon colexification originated from North China, and dragon is the mythologized form of thunder and lightning by the Proto-Sino-Tibetan people during the Neolithic period.

Soil moisture alters the responses of alpine ecosystem productivity to environmental factors, especially VPD, on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Water availability, which can be represented by soil water content (SWC), plays a crucial role in plant growth and productivity across the cold and arid Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the indirect effects of SWC are less well understood, and a more comprehensive understanding of its regulating effects may enhance the recognition of its importance, as this factor is pivotal for accurately predicting the future response of alpine ecosystems to climate change. In this study, in situ eddy covariance observation data from typical alpine ecosystems and satellite data covering the Qinghai-Tibetan region were used to comprehensively reveal the effects of SWC on ecosystem productivity. The results indicated that SWC played an important role in regulating the responses of gross primary productivity (GPP) to other environmental factors over both time and space, especially in terms of the responses of GPP to vapor pressure deficit (VPD). The regulating effect can be summarized as follows: there was a specific SWC value (SWC = 0.24 m3 m−3 on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau) above which SWC was no longer the primary limiting factor. The responses of GPP to certain environmental factors shifted from negative to positive when the SWC increased above this value. The responses of GPP to VPD exhibited the highest sensitivity to the regulating effects of SWC, with a general response pattern found across different temporal and spatial scales. The findings revealed divergent responses of GPP to environmental factors under different SWC conditions and between arid and humid regions, emphasizing the importance of soil water conditions. These findings suggest that water conditions should be given primary consideration in global change studies.

Altitude effect on Propofol Pharmacokinetics in Rats.

Propofol is an intravenous agent for clinical anesthesia. As the influence of the hypobaric-hypoxic environment (Qinghai-Tibetan region, altitude: 2800-4300 m, PaO2: 15.1-12.4 kPa) on the metabolism of Propofol is complex, the research results on the metabolic characteristics of Propofol in high-altitude areas remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of Propofol in a high-altitude hypoxic environment using animal experiments. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: high-altitude, medium-altitude, and plain groups. The time of disappearance and recovery of the rat righting reflex was recorded as the time of anesthesia induction and awakening, respectively. The plasma concentration of Propofol was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A pharmacokinetic analysis software was used to analyze the blood-drug concentrations and obtain the pharmacokinetic parameters. We observed that when Propofol anesthetizes rats, the anesthesia induction time was shortened, and the recovery time was prolonged with increased altitude. Compared with the plain group, the clearance of Propofol decreased, whereas the half-life, area under the concentration-time curve, peak plasma concentration, and average residence time extension increased. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of Propofol are significantly altered in high-altitude hypoxic environments.

Spatial pattern analysis of coordinated relationship between county development and resources in China

The economic and social development gaps, and the uneven distribution of natural resources in China require a focus on county-level issues. This study explored the coupling coordinated relationship between county development and resources and the environment in China to provide direction and theoretical support for sustainable development. An index system of county development and resources and the environment was constructed, combined with the regionalization of China. This study identified the spatial patterns and differences in county development and resources and environment in China, as well as the regional coupling coordination degree between them. Results showed that the coupling coordination degree was high whether in the northern region or southern region, and more than 95% of counties were in grade IV or above. In Qinghai–Tibetan region, 79.14% of counties were grade IV or above, and 19.42% of counties were grade III. In northwest region, 53.81% of counties were grade IV or above, while 12.18% of counties were grade II. This study showed the difference in the coordination based on regionalization. It proposed suggestions for the development direction of counties with different coordination grades.

Optimizing Building Envelope Dimensions for Passive Solar Houses in the Qinghai-Tibetan Region: Window to Wall Ratio and Depth of Sunspace

It has been a focus to reduce the energy consumption and improve the space heating performance of high-altitude buildings in winter seasons. In view of the abundant solar energy resources of the high-altitude region, the establishment of passive solar houses should be an effective strategy to deal with the problem of thermal comfort. Both window to wall ratio (WWR) and sunspace depth are of vital importance to determine the thermal comfort level of passive solar houses, while there are limited studies on analyzing their impacts on passive solar houses in high-altitude regions. Therefore, this study is designed to examine how WWR and sunspace depth affect space heating of passive solar houses in the Qinghai-Tibetan region. To be specific, the hourly radiation temperature variations and percentages of dissatisfaction of the residential building with different sunspace depth/WWR (including 0.9m/33%, 0.9m/45%, 0.9m/60%, 1.2m/33% and 1.5m/33%) were quantitatively examined. Results indicated that under the condition of 0.9m/45%, the overall average radiation temperature of the building was approximately 16°C during the entire heating season, which could better satisfy the heating requirements. Meanwhile, the average temperature was higher, and the thermal comfort level was better under the ratio of 45% or the depth of 1.5 m, when only an individual factor in either ratio or depth was considered. These findings can provide references for the determination of dimensions of passive solar houses in high-altitude regions.

Comparative transcriptomics provides insight into the molecular basis of species diversification of section Trigonopedia (Cypripedium) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Deceptive pollination is key to the species richness of Orchidaceae. However, the genetic basis of species diversification is still under study. Section Trigonopedia is a monophyletic clade of genus Cypripedium distributed in the southwest of China. The species of this section are pollinated by different flies. Pollinator differentiation makes section Trigonopedia an ideal group for studying the genetic basis underlying species diversification. Here, we sequenced the transcriptomes of eight species of the genus Cypripedium, including six co-flowering species of section Trigonopedia and two species outside this section as an outgroup. We reconstructed the phylogeny of the section with the combined 1572 single-copy genes extracted from the eight species and produced a highly resolved tree of the section. Furthermore, we combined substitution rate estimation and differential expression analysis to identify candidate genes, including genes related to floral scent synthesis and environmental adaptation, involved in species differentiation. Field investigations showed that these species have adapted to different habitats. We propose that the species diversification in this section is initiated by floral scent differentiation, followed by habitat differentiation, finally leading to speciation. This study sheds novel light on the diversification of closely related orchid species in the Qinghai-Tibetan region.

Effects of mountain formation and uplift on biological diversity.

The formation and uplift of mountain ranges constitute major geological phenomena that can have long-lasting effects on the evolutionary diversification of living organisms. They provide opportunities for adaptive evolution through an increase of spatial heterogeneity of the landscape, including elevation, and the generation of a wide variety of ecologically diverse biotopes, and affect the migration of organisms and the distribution of species since mountain ranges can act as both biological corridors and ecological barriers. Hence, it should come as no surprise that mountain ranges host a large proportion of the biological diversity on earth (Barthlott et al., 2007; Jenkins et al., 2013). The reviews of Wen et al. (2014) and Luebert and Weigend (2014) included in this Research Topic present accounts of plant diversification processes in two major mountain regions of the world: the Andes and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Both studies show that plant diversifications have occurred in relatively recent geological times, primarily since the Middle Miocene, and therefore followed the late uplift phases of the high mountain ranges of both the Andes and the Qinghai-Tibetan region during the last 15–20 million years (Garzione et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2008). It is thus likely that the formations of those mountain ranges are at least partially responsible for the observed diversification processes, as proposed in other, more recent studies (e.g., Favre et al., 2015; Sanchez-Baracaldo and Thomas, 2014). Rapid diversification processes are documented for the Paramo clade of the plant genus Hypericum in the northern Andes (Nurk et al., 2013). The high diversity of this group originated recently (2.3–5.6 mya) and its diversification rate is well above the background diversification of Hypericum. This pattern of diversification is also seen in other endemic plant groups of the Paramo flora, and the region has the highest average diversification rate among all biodiversity hotspots in the world (Madrinan et al., 2013). Given the similar ages of these lineages (Luebert and Weigend, 2014) and of the high-elevation environments of the Paramo (Mora et al., 2010), these diversifications may have been triggered by the formation of high-mountain habitats in the northern Andes. Increased speciation rates would have occurred along with mountain uplift and habitat diversification, as observed in other Andean groups such as hummingbirds (Chaves et al., 2011) and butterflies (Despland, 2014), confirming the ideas initially proposed by Simpson (1975). Similar diversifications as those observed in the Paramo ecosystem have also occurred in plants of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (Wen et al., 2014), but more studies are necessary to gain insights into any large-scale pattern (Favre et al., 2015). Mutke et al. (2014) report the distribution patterns of four Andean plant groups to reflect habitat heterogeneity rather than uplift history or barrier effects of mountain ranges, supporting, at least partially, the hypothesis that direct drivers of plant diversification in both the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the Andes include plant-pollinator interactions, local adaptation to diverse environmental conditions and polyploidization (Luebert and Weigend, 2014; Wen et al., 2014). Although not reported in this Research Topic, the occurrence of polyploidization has been shown for the European-centered plant genus Campanula. Polyploid species of this genus are concentrated in the Campanula rotundifolia-complex, a mountain clade of Pliocene origin (Mansion et al., 2012). The significance of plant-pollinator interactions for the isolation of plant populations and plant diversification in mountain ranges, on the other hand, has been shown for three Penstemon species by Kramer et al. (2010). The different studies reported in this Research Topic clearly illustrate the potential effects of mountain uplift and formation on species diversification, at least in two major mountain regions of the world. A synthesis of biological diversification on mountains is, however, still far from being achieved and the potentially high complexity of the involved history, geography and biological processes encourages further research (Hoorn et al., 2013; Favre et al., 2015; Luebert and Weigend, 2014; Wen et al., 2014). Nevertheless, we hope that the collection of papers in this Research Topic will be of interest to scientists and will stimulate development of new studies and syntheses. We sincerely thank the authors and the reviewers for their efforts and contributions that made this Research Topic possible.

Spatial variation profiling of four phytochemical constituents in Gentiana straminea (Gentianaceae)

Gentiana straminea is the famous Tibetan folk medicine thought to cure various diseases. Historically, the Qinghai-Tibetan region has been considered as the geo-authentic production area of "Mahua Jiao," where large quantities of the medicine are grown. However, there is still little known about the phytochemical constituent spatial variation of this species. In order to find the differences between the main phytochemical constituents of G. straminea and to provide comprehensive information for quality evaluation, four main bioactive compounds (loganic acid, swertiamarin, gentiopicroside and sweroside) were analysed in 26 populations grown in areas with elevations ranging from 2320 to 4720 m across the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that the four phytochemical constitutes' concentrations varied greatly in the spatial profiling of the Qinghai-Tibetan region. Throughout the range of distribution of this species, no altitudinal, latitudinal or longitudinal trends have proven to be significant in any of the four constitutes' concentrations or their summation. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering analysis and statistical tests showed that four populations (Liu0609-18, Liu0609-15, Liu2006-13-9 and Liu0609-22) had total constitute contents that were higher than other populations. The spatial profiling of the four phytochemical constituents suggests that the geo-authentic producing area of this species exists at a few regions within the Qinghai province, which could be attributed to specific environmental or genetic factors.

Geochemical characteristics and geological significance of the adakites from west Tibet

The occurrences of adakite or adakite-like rocks in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan region are well known (Qu et al. 2002, Hou et al. 2003). Here, we report the first occurrence of such rocks from the western part. The geochemical characteristics of adakite distributed in the west Tibet (between 88° longitudes and the western borders of China) and of less than 25 Ma in age are presented in this paper. The geological significance of the adakites is also discussed by comparing with the adakite-like rocks exposed in the east. Samples for geochemical study were taken from 3 sites from the southern, middle and northern Gangdese plutons where the trends are generally NNE. These samples, which belong to the series of continental alkaline magmatism, have the following characteristics: relatively high Si0 2 (56.00~71.51%) and A1 2 0 3 (13.04~16.85 %) and Na 2 O (Na 2 O/K 2 O=1.2 to 2.4); high Mg # ratios (57~64) based on petrochemistry; high Sr (420~1068 ppm); low Y (3.32~16.7 ppm). They show a REE pattern rich in light REE and abnormality in Eu (weak) and Sr (positive) compared to the standardized pattern. These geochemical characteristics are typical of adakite according to Defant and Drummond (1990) (Figure 1).

Genetic variation and phylogeographic history of Picea likiangensis revealed by RAPD markers

Repeated cycles of retreat and recolonization during the Quaternary ice ages are thought to have greatly influenced current species distributions and their genetic diversity. It remains unclear how this climatic oscillation has affected the distribution of genetic diversity between populations of wind-pollinated conifers in the Qinghai-Tibetan region. In this study, we investigated the within-species genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of Picea likiangensis, a dominant forest species in this region using polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Our results suggest that this species has high overall genetic diversity, with 85.42% of loci being polymorphic and an average expected heterozygosity (HE) of 0.239. However, there were relatively low levels of polymorphism at population levels and the differences between populations were not significant, with percentages of polymorphic bands (PPB) ranging from 46.88 to 69.76%, Nei’s gene diversity (HE) from 0.179 to 0.289 and Shannon’s indices (Hpop) from 0.267 to 0.421. In accordance with our proposed hypothesis, a high level of genetic differentiation among populations was detected based on Nei’s genetic diversity (GST = 0.256) and AMOVA analysis (Phist = 0.236). Gene flow between populations was found to be limited (Nm = 1.4532) and far lower than reported for other conifer species with wide distribution ranges from other regions. No clusters corresponding to three morphological varieties found in the south, north and west, respectively, were detected in either UPGMA or PCO analyses. Our results suggest that this species may have had different refugia during the glacial stages in the southern region and that the northern variety may have multiple origins from these different refugia.

Surge-tectonic evolution of southeastern Asia: a geohydrodynamics approach

The repeated need for ad hoc modifications in plate-tectonic models to explain the evolution of southeastern Asia reveals their inability to fully explain the complex features and dynamics of this region. As one example, the hypothesis does not provide a mechanism to explain the 180° turns and twists along the strike of several foldbelts and island arcs in the region (e.g. Banda arc). Convection-cell configuration renders such 180° contortions and Rayleigh-Bénard-type convection impossible. However, during the last 10 years, new data bearing on the convection-cell problem have become available in the form of seismotomographic images of the earth's interior. These images show that (i) mantle diapirs as proposed by traditional plate-tectonic models do not exist; (ii) there is no discernible pattern of upper or lower mantle convection, and thus no longer an adequate mechanism to move plates; and (iii) the lithosphere above a depth of about 80 km is permeated by an interconnected network of low-velocity channels. Seismic-reflection studies of the low-velocity channels discovered on the seismotomographic images reveal that these channels have walls with a 7.1–7.8 km s −1 P-wave velocity. Commonly, the interiors of the channels are acoustically transparent, with much slower P-wave velocities, in places as low as 5.4 km s −1. The author and co-workers have interpreted the low velocities as evidence for the presence of partial melt in the channels, and they postulated that this melt moves preferentially eastward as a result of the earth's rotation. They named these channels “surge channels” and their new hypothesis for earth dynamics “surge tectonics”. Surge channels underlie every type of tectonic belt, which includes mid-ocean ridges, aseismic ridges, continental rifts, strike-slip fracture zones, and foldbelts. In southeastern Asia, surge channels—mainly foldbelts—lie between all platform and cratonic massifs. These massifs, platforms, and tectonics belts—the surge channels—form an anastomosing E-W pattern southern Asiatic Russia, Mongolia, western China, the Qinghai-Tibetan region, and northern India and Pakistan. Such an anastomosing pattern indicates that flow is an active process in the surge channels. Surface studies of phenomena that might be associated with the surge channels soon revealed that all active channels are characterized by higher-than-normal heat flow (> 55 mW m −2, thermal springs and elevated ground-water temperatures, volvanic phenomena, bands of microearthquakes, and linear belts of faults, fractures, and fissures. The latter are especially visible on satellite images. The bands of high heat flow, thermal springs, microearthquakes, and faults-fractures-fissures almost exactly coincide. The fault-fracture-fissure systems are interpreted to be streamlines caused by flow in the surge channels—a consequence of Stokes's Law (an expression of Newton's Second Law of Motion)-and show that Poiseuille flow must dominate in the channels. Hence, the mechanism producing the belts of linear faults-fractures-fissures is viscous drag, produced by fluid motions. The eastward flow of the magma in the channels is demonstrated clearly in the tectonic patterns of southeastern Asia. In the northern part of the region studied, the E-W striking anastomosing surge channels (tectonic belts) splay northeastward into the coastal regions of Russia. In the south, they splay southward and southeastward through the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia. The open horsetail structures thus created prove that flow is W-E. The presence of the two splay directions, NE and S-SE, indicates in addition that a barrier to eastward flow must lie directly east of Asia. In this author's opinion, this barrier is the existing Benioff zone, because the same NE and S-SE splay patterns are present on each of the paleotectonic maps that have been prepared for nine time intervals from the beginning of Sinian (latest Proterozoic) time to the present. The presence of the W-E flow patterns through 850 Ma of geological time, patterns that remain essentially unchanged, means simply that tectonic explanations of Asian geology need revision. The patterns that have been mapped indicate that W-E flow across Asia has persisted essentially unchanged for 850 Ma. Surge tectonics is the only hypothesis yet proposed that explains these patterns and their persistence.