Study shows ecology in Xizang has remained stable over past 2 decades

The ecosystems of Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region — home to the world's highest and largest plateau — have remained stable in the past two decades, according to a study by Chinese scientists.

From 2000 to 2020, the rate of change in ecological patterns in Xizang was less than 1 percent, which is lower than the rate for the rest of the nation, according to the study led by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment based in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Meanwhile, the region's role in sequestrating carbon, conserving water, retaining soil as well as wind prevention and sand fixation during the period had either maintained steady or slightly increased, and the population of local wild animals and plants showed signs of growth.