Accelerated vegetation transformation in the World's highlands since the past 20 kyr

IF 4 1区地球科学 Q1 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

Global and Planetary Change Pub Date : 2025-08-20 DOI:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2025.105037

Dongliang Zhang , Yinbo Li , Blyakharchuk Tatiana

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Growing evidence underscores fundamental differences in vegetation succession and fire dynamics between global highlands (>2000 m a.s.l.) and lowland regions, yet the temporal patterns and governing mechanisms of rates of vegetation compositional change (RoCs) in alpine systems remain poorly constrained. Through systematic analysis of 157 fossil pollen records and 143 charcoal sequences across six highlands (North America, Europe, Central Asia, South America, Africa and Tibetan Plateau), we identify two distinct phases of accelerated ecosystem reorganization: (1) an initial post-Last Glacial Maximum acceleration (∼18- ∼ 15 cal. Kyr BP) linked to postglacial recovery, and (2) a recent acceleration over the last millennium driven by anthropogenic landscape transformation. Structural equation modeling (SEM) reveals that RoCs drivers follow a tripartite climate-fire-human interaction pattern with marked regional disparities: fire effects depend on vegetation types and disturbance frequency; CO₂ fertilization is mediated by C₃/C₄ competition; and human activities progressively dominated late-Holocene dynamics via landscape structural modifications. This synthesis is the first to quantify the driving network of highland vegetation dynamics on a global scale through the integration of multiple indicators (pollen, charcoal) and SEM, providing paleoecological evidence for understanding the ecological vulnerability of alpine regions in the “Anthropocene”.

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过去20年来，世界高地植被的加速变化

越来越多的证据强调了全球高地（海拔2000米）和低地地区在植被演替和火灾动态方面的根本差异，但高山系统植被组成变化率（RoCs）的时间格局和控制机制仍然知之甚少。(2)在过去的一千年中，由于人为的景观转变而加速。结构方程模型（SEM）表明，森林植被变化的驱动因素遵循气候-火-人三方交互作用模式，且区域差异显著：火灾影响取决于植被类型和干扰频率；CO₂施肥由C₃/C₄竞争介导；人类活动通过景观结构改变逐渐主导了晚全新世动态。该综合首次通过多指标（花粉、木炭）和SEM的综合，在全球尺度上量化高原植被动态的驱动网络，为认识“人类世”高寒地区的生态脆弱性提供了古生态学证据。

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来源期刊

Global and Planetary Change 地学天文-地球科学综合

CiteScore

7.40

自引率

10.30%

发文量

226

审稿时长

63 days

期刊介绍： The objective of the journal Global and Planetary Change is to provide a multi-disciplinary overview of the processes taking place in the Earth System and involved in planetary change over time. The journal focuses on records of the past and current state of the earth system, and future scenarios , and their link to global environmental change. Regional or process-oriented studies are welcome if they discuss global implications. Topics include, but are not limited to, changes in the dynamics and composition of the atmosphere, oceans and cryosphere, as well as climate change, sea level variation, observations/modelling of Earth processes from deep to (near-)surface and their coupling, global ecology, biogeography and the resilience/thresholds in ecosystems. Key criteria for the consideration of manuscripts are (a) the relevance for the global scientific community and/or (b) the wider implications for global scale problems, preferably combined with (c) having a significance beyond a single discipline. A clear focus on key processes associated with planetary scale change is strongly encouraged. Manuscripts can be submitted as either research contributions or as a review article. Every effort should be made towards the presentation of research outcomes in an understandable way for a broad readership.