Studies by the Georgia Institute of Technology indicates that the effects of global warming will have adverse effects on the Alpine grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau. The analysis is based on the effects of global warming and its effects on rainfall and temperatures. This is then correlated with how the effects will reduce the stability of the grasslands and on the people who depend on it to feed their livestock and other biomass-dependent organisms. It is in this regard that the study showed that global warming would have tremendous effects on the ecosystem of the Tibetan plateau with its interrelationship with livestock keeping people of that region.
It is scientifically correct in stating that rise in temperatures would result in the stability of the plateau grassland ecosystem and the subsequent food chain. Rising of temperatures would mean that there will be drier seasons which will cause the reduced plant growth in the grasslands and periods of increased plant growth during the wet seasons. This kind of fluctuation on the growth of the vegetation cover is bad news to the people who depend on it to feed their livestock which they depend on for survival. Disability in the ecosystem would mean that there would be no enough forage for the livestock which the local people of that region depend on. Not only will be livestock be in danger but also it will also affect water catchment and conservation and climate regulation.
The rise of temperatures at any region will have adverse effects on the ecosystem, especially if the temperatures rise in an unprecedented manner and not based on natural causes.
In this case, there would be increased rates of evaporation from the ground and increased transpiration on trees. Secondly, there would be increased summer temperatures resulting to the effects mentioned above. There would be reduced summer rain leading to reduced moisture in the soil. The overall impact of these changes would be severe drought which will increase its frequency and severity over the years, leading to probably permanent changes over the decades.
The issues caused by the rising of temperatures are primarily human activities on the ecosystem. Human activities on the ecosystem since the period of industrialization has had tremendous effects on the rise of temperatures on the planet. Social and economic activities have been at the core of the disruption of the harmony of the dynamics of the sustainability of ecosystems. The increased human population is one of the social factors which has led to the destruction of the vegetation cover for settlement which is vital in the maintaining of the carbon ratio in the atmosphere. Therefore, sustainable human reproduction such as the number-child policy would have been appropriate for maintaining of pleasant temperatures in the atmosphere.
The other effect is on the economic activities of their human population. Increased non-degradable waste, increased industrial pollution regarding air pollution and the emission of greenhouse gasses has been detrimental to the global temperatures. Sustainable development coupled with political good will would have seen that there is regulation of the human activities which would see the planet be free from being destroyed. People in the area should invest in renewable sources of energy, instead of fossil fuels to prevent the emission of greenhouse gasses.
In conclusion, the Alpine grassland has evolved to being adapted to a cold environment which has aided on their survival and rising of temperatures has seen fluctuations in the season's rainfall rising fears on the survival of the people who depend on it. Therefore, to avoid creating an arid jungle in the centuries to come, the people of Tibetan plateau should be encouraged to practice sustainable development and the government to exercise proper regulations and management.
References
Georgia Institute of Technology. (2017, May 10). Rising temperatures threaten the stability of Tibetan alpine grasslands. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 24, 2017, from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170510075541.htm
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