Different response of vegetation to permafrost change in semi-arid and semi-humid regions in Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

The effects of the depth of the active layer of permafrost on aboveground vegetation in semi-arid and semi-humid regions of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau were studied. The depth of active permafrost was measured and aboveground vegetation recorded. Differences in correspondence between permafrost depth and aboveground vegetation in semi-arid and semi-humid regions were analyzed. Vegetation cover and biomass were well correlated with permafrost depth in both semi-arid and semi-humid regions, but the correlation coefficient in the semi-arid region was larger than in the semi-humid region. With the increase in permafrost depth, vegetation cover and biomass decreased in both regions. Species richness and diversity decreased with increasing depth of permafrost in the semi-arid region. In the semi-humid region, these at first increased and then decreased as permafrost depth increased. It seems likely that vegetation on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau will degenerate to different degrees due to permafrost depth increasing as a result of climatic warming. The influence would be especially remarkable in the semi-arid region.