Changes in permafrost environments along the Qinghai–Tibet
engineering corridor induced by anthropogenic activities
and climate warming
Hui-jun Jin
⁎
, Qi-hao Yu, Shao-ling Wang, Lan-zhi Lü
State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soils Engineering, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, 326 West Donggang Road, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000, China
Received 31 March 2007; accepted 18 July 2007
Abstract
The sensitive permafrost environments along the Qinghai–Tibet Engineering Corridor (QTEC) from Golmud to Lhasa are
controlled by periglacial processes, geography, geocryology and the local climate. During the past 50 years, permafrost has been
degrading at a rapid rate due to the combined influences of steadily increasing human activities and persistent climatic warming,
and extensive accelerated degradation has been observed along the QTEC. In many locations, the surface vegetation and the top
soils have been completely removed, or destroyed, and have led to significantly increased water and soil erosion, with extensive
and serious environmental and engineering impacts. The vegetation along the QTEC is dominated by alpine grasslands and
meadows. The alpine grasslands have a better capability for recovery from the damages than the meadows. At sections where the
vegetation and soils were severely damaged, it will take 20–30 years for alpine grasslands to recover their ecological structures and
biodiversity similar to that of the original conditions, whereas it will take 45–60 years for the alpine meadows. The environmental
management and protection along the QTEC are urgent and important for the long-term stability of engineering foundations, and
for the sustainable development on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). The proper protection and management requires the
development of a non-interference plan and acceleration in the enactment and enforcement of environmental protection (laws,
regulations and stipulations) based on an extensive and thorough understanding and practical rehabilitation techniques for disturbed
or damaged permafrost environments.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Qinghai–Tibet Engineering Corridor (QTEC); Permafrost environment; Developing trends; Qinghai–Tibet Highway (QTH); Qinghai–Tibet
Railway (QTR); Environmental management
1. Introduction
The Qinghai–Tibet Engineering Corridor (QTEC)
from Golmud, Qinghai Province in the north, to Lhasa,
Tibet Autonomous Regions in the south, encompasses a
naturally-occurring north–south corridor in the central
area of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). About 80%
of this corridor exceeds 4000 m in elevation while a
portion of it, about 50 km, exceeds 5000 m. The QTEC
crosses three major generally easterly–westerly trending
mountain ranges: the Kunlun Shan, Fenghuo Shan, and
Tanggula Shan (Fig. 1), and is subject to frequent strong
earthquakes and other tectonic activities. These high
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Cold Regions Science and Technology 53 (2008) 317 – 333
www.elsevier.com/locate/coldregions
⁎
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 931 4967426; fax: +86 931
8271054.
E-mail addresses: hjjin@lzb.ac.cn (H. Jin),
shaolingwang@yahoo.com (S. Wang).
0165-232X/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2007.07.005