Observed Changes of Koppen Climate Zones Based on High-Resolution Data Sets in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Emerging and disappearing climate zones are frequently used to diagnose and project climate change. However, little attempt has been made to quantify shifts of climate zones in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) based on the high-resolution data sets. Our results show that highland climate was decreased substantially during 1961-2011 and were mainly replaced by boreal climate. We also found that the mean elevation of boreal and highland climate continues to rise, with obvious longitudinal geographical characteristics over the study period. Furthermore, we found that the climate spaces (a climate space defined as the volume of 10 degrees C x 500 mm here) of both boreal and highland climate types tend to be warm and humid ones, which may provide more suitable climate conditions for species to maintain and promote diversity. Characterization of changes in QTP climate types deepens our understanding of regional climate and its biological impacts. Plain Language Summary Climate classification is the key to simplifying complex climate and helps to deepen the understanding of regional climate change. Based on the high-resolution data set (LZ0025), the sharp climatic gradient features and their potential biological impact on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) was quantified. With the temperature increase, the spatial distribution of highland tundra climate was gradually replaced by boreal climate. More importantly, the contraction of highland climate and the expansion of boreal climate has obvious elevation characteristics. In addition, climate spaces of highland and boreal climate types tend to warm and humid ones, which may provide more climatic niches for different species and contribute to regional biodiversity.