The influencing factors and contribution rates of oxygen concentration over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau have been recalculated

This study is led by Dr. Peijun Shi (State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University) and Dr. Jiang Lu (State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University).

The research team conducted joint observations of ecosystem oxygen production and carbon sinks and near-surface atmospheric oxygen concentrations on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and meteorological elements at Beijing Fangshan Station from 2018 to 2020.

They obtained 422 sets of oxygen concentration route/sample data, 173 sets of fixed-point respiration/ photosynthesis observations data on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and over 160,000 measurements from the Beijing Fangshan Station.

Through the analysis of measured data, the research team found that solar radiation, atmospheric humidity, and ecosystem oxygen consumption and production have a significant impact on the atmospheric oxygen concentration, and the impact shows temporal and spatial differences.

Vegetation significantly impacts the oxygen concentration, with a relative contribution rate of 16.7-24.5%, which is underestimated in existing research.

These new measurement data and the analysis results provide important basis for understanding the factors that influence atmospheric oxygen concentration, and also remind us that in order to better understand the oxygen dynamics of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, further field observations of soil respiration and vegetation photosynthesis are needed to clarify the contributions of carbon storage, carbon sinks and other factors to the near-surface atmospheric oxygen concentration.

See the article:

Shi P, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Zhu W, Hu X, Yang H, Jiang L, Ma Y, Tang H. 2024. Factors contributing to the oxygen concentration over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its contribution rate calculation. Science China Earth Sciences, 67(2): 497–509, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1238-7