Tibetan Plateau as a shelter plays an important role in ecological security in China, even in Asia, which is also the key source region of many rivers. Under the joint effects of global changes and anthropogenic activities, many serious ecological and environmental issues have occurred in Tibetan Plateau. Particularly, typical alpine wetland generally shows a trend of degradation. By analyzing the current studies of wetland area change and degradation in the structure and function of ecosystems and potential causes of wetland degradation, this study addresses dynamical changes and evolutional trend of alpine wetland in Tibetan Plateau. The ecological protection and restoration projects conducted by Chinese government have played a large role in recent twenty years, but the degradation of alpine wetland is still a great challenge. As a long-term work, it is needed to strengthen the active cooperation of technology research and development projects and engineering projects of ecological restoration in the future and to increase natural capacity of recovery of wetland through establishing a long-term management mechanism. At the same time, to construct complete evaluation models and indicator systems for protection of alpine wetland, and further to improve monitoring system and evaluating system for project implementation effect are necessary. By conducting a long-term ecological monitoring for alpine wetland ecosystem in the source regions of the Yellow River and Yangtse Rive, Shouqu wetland of Yellow river and Zoige wetland should be merged into the management scope of National Park as Sanjiangyuan, which can be planed as a whole to establish a platform of scientific service and mechanism of information sharing.

Tibetan Plateau  /  alpine wetland  /  ecosystem evolution  /  water conservation function  /  ecological restoration and conservation