Research Progress in the Ecological Characteristics of Soil Water in Alpine Grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Soil water is an important factor constraining vegetation growth and spatial distribution of the alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.Consequently,it affects the stability of local ecosystems.In this work,the ecological characteristics of soil water in the alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau were studied in four aspects:the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of soil water in the alpine grasslands,the impact of vegetation cover change on soil water in the alpine grasslands,the impact of permafrost change on soil water,and the impact of human activities on soil water in the alpine grasslands.The physiological basis of the impact of vegetation cover change on soil water reallocation from the perspective of plant evolution at local scale was explained in previous studies in this field,but studies in largescale are still insufficient;the eco-hydrological effect of seasonal freezing and thawing was clarified,but the comprehensive analysis of its related to climate and geology is lacking;and showed the specialty of the geographic distribution of soil water in the third pole of the world(i.e.,the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau),but the significant influence factor of soil water characteristic differences between regions is not yet clear.Future work should synthesize multisource and multi-scale information on soil water change impacted by vegetation cover,permafrost,geology,climate,and human activities to provide scientific bases for exploring the difference in soil water change at different scales and the ecological effect of pattern dynamics.