In Yang et al. (2018, Ecosphere), the authors conduct the first synthesis across warming experiments on the Tibetan Plateau. They found that warming increased aboveground net primary production (ANPP) at sites with permafrost, but ANPP decreased with warming at non-permafrost sites. ANPP responded more negatively to warming under drier conditions, due to both annual drought conditions and warming-induced soil moisture loss. Decreases in species diversity with warming were also larger at sites with permafrost. These results demonstrate that water plays a central role in the functioning of cold environments and suggest that as ecosystems cross a threshold from permafrost to non-permafrost systems, ANPP will decrease across a greater proportion of the Tibetan Plateau. This study also highlights the future convergence of challenges from permafrost degradation and grassland desertification, requiring new collaborations among these currently distinct research and stakeholder groups. You can read the paper here and learn about one of these sites here.
The DOI for there paper is 10.1002/ecs2.2233
When published, the paper will appear at the url: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.2233/full