Abstract:

Plant phenology is the recurrence of life history events. Impacts of climate change and human activity on phenology weresignificant in the Qinghai-Tibetan  Plateau, and warming and optimal grazing advanced the timings of green-up and flowering but delayed the end date of senescence. However, fruiting time kept relative stable compared with other phenophases. Warming prolonged the duration of plant activity period which was mainly derived from prolonged flowering duration as well as other reproductive phenophases. These changes mainly attributed to changes of temperature, moisture and grazing. Warming and wet, moderate grazing contributed to advance and lengthen phenophases, whereas warming and drought led to delay and shorten phenophases. Changes of
phenophases had significant influences on structure and function of populations, community, ecosystem and productions and lives of pastoral and tourism. However, there were few studies on phenology, especially the effects of changes of phenology on structure and function of ecosystem on the Tibetan plateau. Therefore, we suggest that we should pay more attentions to effects of climate change and human activity on alpine plant phenology from physiology-level to ecosystem-level, and to feedbacks of phenology on ecosystems in the future.