Reich, P. B. et al. The evolution of plant functional variation: traits, spectra, and strategies. Int. J. Plant Sci. 164, S143–S164 (2003).
Cornelissen, J. H. C. et al. A handbook of protocols for standardised and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Aust. J. Bot. 51, 335–380 (2003).
Liu, X. J. & Ma, K. P. Plant functional traits concepts, applications and future directions. Sci. Sin. Vitae 45, 325–339 (2015).
Diaz, S., Cabido, M. & Casanoves, F. Plant functional traits and environmental filters at a regional scale. J. Veg. Sci. 9, 113–122 (1998).
Kraft, N. J. B., Godoy, O. & Levine, J. M. Plant functional traits and the multidimensional nature of species coexistence. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 112, 797–802 (2015).
Google Scholar
Barton, K. E. Tougher and thornier: general patterns in the induction of physical defence traits. Func. Ecol. 30, 181–187 (2016).
Adler, P. B., Fajardo, A., Kleinhesselink, A. R. & Kraft, N. J. B. Trait-based tests of coexistence mechanisms. Ecol. Lett. 16, 1294–1306 (2013).
Google Scholar
Wright, S. J. et al. Functional traits and the growth–mortality trade-off in tropical trees. Ecology 91, 3664–3674 (2010).
Google Scholar
Wright, I. J. et al. The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428, 821–827 (2004).
Google Scholar
Ruiz-Jaen, M. C. & Potvin, C. Can we predict carbon stocks in tropical ecosystems from tree diversity? Comparing species and functional diversity in a plantation and a natural forest. New Phytol. 189, 978–987 (2011).
Google Scholar
Grubb, P. J. A positive distrust in simplicity-lessons from plant defences and from competition among plants and among animals. J. Ecol. 80, 585–610 (1992).
Hanley, M. E., Lamont, B. B., Fairbanks, M. M. & Rafferty, C. M. Plant structural traits and their role in anti-herbivore defence. Perspect. Plant Ecol. 8, 157–178 (2007).
Burns, K. C. Spinescence in the New Zealand flora: parallels with Australia. N. Z. J. Bot. 54, 273–289 (2016).
Goheen, J. R., Young, T. P., Keesing, F. & Palmer, T. M. Consequences of herbivory by native ungulates for the reproduction of a savanna tree. J. Ecol. 95, 129–138 (2007).
Goldel, B., Kissling, W. D. & Svenning, J.-C. Geographical variation and environmental correlates of functional trait distributions in palms (Arecaceae) across the New World. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 179, 602–617 (2015).
Alves-Silva, E. & Del-Claro, K. Herbivory causes increases in leaf spinescence and fluctuating asymmetry as a mechanism of delayed induced resistance in a tropical savanna tree. Plant Ecol. Evol. 149, 73–80 (2016).
Cooper, S. M. & Ginnett, T. F. Spines protect plants against browsing by small climbing mammals. Oecologia 113, 219–221 (1998).
Google Scholar
Charles-Dominique, T. et al. Spiny plants, mammal browsers, and the origin of African savannas. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 113, E5572–E5579 (2016).
Google Scholar
Ratnam, J., Tomlinson, K. W., Rasquinha, D. N. & Sankaran, M. Savannahs of Asia: antiquity, biogeography, and an uncertain future. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B. 371, 20150305 (2016).
Scholes, R. & Archer, S. Tree-grass interactions in savannas. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 28, 517–544 (1997).
Cerling, T. E. Development of grasslands and savannas in East Africa during the Neogene. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 97, 241–247 (1992).
Brown, R. W. Additions to the flora of the Green River formation. U. S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper, U. S. Gov. Print. Off. 154-J, 279–292 (1929).
Manchester, S. Oligocene fossil plants of the John Day Formation, Oregon. Or. Geol. 49, 115d–127d (1987).
Meyer, H. W. & Manchester, S. R. Oligocene Bridge Creek flora of the John Day Formation, Oregon (Univ. California Press, 1997).
Lancucka-Srodoniowa, M. Tortonian flora from the “Gdow Bay” in the south of Poland. Acta Palaeobot. 7, 1–134 (1966).
Yuan, J. et al. Rapid drift of the Tethyan Himalaya terrane before two-stage India-Asia collision. Natl Sci. Rev. 8, nwaa173 (2021).
Google Scholar
Spicer, R. A. et al. Why the ‘Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’is a myth. Natl Sci. Rev. 8, nwaa091 (2021).
Google Scholar
Spicer, R. A. Tibet, the Himalaya, Asian monsoons and biodiversity–In what ways are they related? Plant Divers. 39, 233–244 (2017).
Google Scholar
DeCelles, P. G., Kapp, P., Gehrels, G. E. & Ding, L. Paleocene-Eocene foreland basin evolution in the Himalaya of southern Tibet and Nepal: implications for the age of initial India-Asia collision. Tectonics 33, 824–849 (2014).
Google Scholar
Royden, L. H., Burchfiel, B. C. & van der Hilst, R. D. The geological evolution of the Tibetan Plateau. Science 321, 1054–1058 (2008).
Google Scholar
Deng, T., Wu, F. X., Zhou, Z. K. & Su, T. Tibetan Plateau: an evolutionary junction for the history of modern biodiversity. Sci. China Earth Sci. 63, 172–187 (2020).
Google Scholar
Favre, A. et al. The role of the uplift of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau for the evolution of Tibetan biotas. Biol. Rev. 90, 236–253 (2015).
Google Scholar
Su, T. et al. A Middle Eocene lowland humid subtropical “Shangri-La” ecosystem in central Tibet. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 117, 32989–32995 (2020).
Google Scholar
Scientific Expedition Team to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Vegetation of Xizang (Tibet) (Sci. Press, 1988).
Liu. X. H. Paleoelevation History and Evolution of the Cenozoic Lunpola basin, Central Tibet. Doctoral thesis (Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2018).
Xiong, Z. Y. et al. The rise and demise of the Paleogene Central Tibetan Valley. Sci. Adv. 8, eabj0944 (2022).
Google Scholar
Reichgelt, T., West, C. K. & Greenwood, D. R. The relation between global palm distribution and climate. Sci. Rep. 8, 4721 (2018).
Google Scholar
Farnsworth, A. et al. Paleoclimate model-derived thermal lapse rates: towards increasing precision in paleoaltimetry studies. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 564, 116903 (2021).
Google Scholar
Spicer, R. A. et al. Why do foliar physiognomic climate estimates sometimes differ from those observed? Insights from taphonomic information loss and a CLAMP case study from the Ganges Delta. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 302, 381–395 (2011).
Walter, H. Vegetation of the Earth and Ecological Systems of the Geo-biosphere (Springer Berlin Heidelb., 1973).
Burley, J. Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences (Acad. Press, 2004).
Deng, T. et al. A mammalian fossil from the Dingqing Formation in the Lunpola Basin, northern Tibet, and its relevance to age and paleo-altimetry. Sci. Bull. 57, 261–269 (2012).
Google Scholar
Ma, P. F. et al. Late Oligocene-early Miocene evolution of the Lunpola Basin, central Tibetan Plateau, evidences from successive lacustrine records. Gondwana Res. 48, 224–236 (2017).
Google Scholar
Hempson, G. P., Archibald, S. & Bond, W. J. A continent-wide assessment of the form and intensity of large mammal herbivory in Africa. Science 350, 1056–1061 (2015).
Google Scholar
Spicer, R. A. The formation and interpretation of plant fossil assemblages. Adv. Bot. Res. 16, 95–191 (1989).
Gibson, D. J. Grasses and Grassland Ecology (Oxford Univ. Press, 2009).
Eltringham, S. K. The Hippos: Natural History and Conservation (Princeton Univ. Press, 1999).
Jiang, H. et al. Oligocene Koelreuteria (Sapindaceae) from the Lunpola Basin in central Tibet and its implication for early diversification of the genus. J. Asian Earth Sci. 175, 99–108 (2019).
Google Scholar
Liu, J. et al. Biotic interchange through lowlands of Tibetan Plateau suture zones during Paleogene. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 524, 33–40 (2019).
Jia, L. B. et al. First fossil record of Cedrelospermum (Ulmaceae) from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: implications for morphological evolution and biogeography. J. Syst. Evol. 57, 94–104 (2019).
Su, T. et al. No high Tibetan Plateau until the Neogene. Sci. Adv. 5, eaav2189 (2019).
Google Scholar
Zhang, Y. L., Li, B. Y. & Zheng, D. A discussion on the boundary and area of the Tibetan Plateau in China. Geol. Res. 21, 1–8 (2002).
Yao, T. D. et al. From Tibetan Plateau to Third Pole and Pan-Third Pole. Bull. Chin. Acad. Sci. 32, 924–931 (2017).
Spicer, R. A., Farnsworth, A. & Su, T. Cenozoic topography, monsoons and biodiversity conservation within the Tibetan Region: an evolving story. Plant Divers. 42, 229–254 (2020).
Google Scholar
Liu, X. H., Xu, Q. & Ding, L. Differential surface uplift: Cenozoic paleoelevation history of the Tibetan Plateau. Sci. China Earth Sci. 59, 2105–2120 (2016).
Google Scholar
Ding, L., Li, Z. Y. & Song, P. P. Core fragments of Tibetan Plateau from Gondwanaland united in Northern Hemisphere. Bull. Chin. Acad. Sci. 32, 945–950 (2017).
Deng, T. & Ding, L. Paleoaltimetry reconstructions of the Tibetan Plateau: progress and contradictions. Natl Sci. Rev. 2, 417–437 (2015).
Google Scholar
Li, S. F. et al. Orographic evolution of northern Tibet shaped vegetation and plant diversity in eastern Asia. Sci. Adv. 7, eabc7741 (2021).
Google Scholar
Ding, L. et al. The Andean-type Gangdese Mountains: Paleoelevation record from the Paleocene–Eocene Linzhou Basin. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 392, 250–264 (2014).
Google Scholar
Deng, T. et al. Review: implications of vertebrate fossils for paleo-elevations of the Tibetan Plateau. Glob. Planet. Change 174, 58–69 (2019).
Google Scholar
Westerhold, T. et al. An astronomically dated record of Earth’s climate and its predictability over the last 66 million years. Science 369, 1383–1387 (2020).
Google Scholar
Nemani, R. R. et al. Climate-driven increases in global terrestrial net primary production from 1982 to 1999. Science 300, 1560–1563 (2003).
Google Scholar
Hopkins, W. G. Introduction to Plant Physiology (John Wiley & Sons, 1999).
Sun, J. M., Liu, W. G., Liu, Z. H. & Fu, B. H. Effects of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and retreat of Neotethys ocean on the stepwise aridification of mid-latitude Asian interior. Bull. Chin. Acad. Sci. 32, 951–958 (2017).
Zong, G. F. Cenezoic Mammals and Environment of Hengduan Mountains Region (China Ocean Press, 1996).
Deng, T. et al. An Oligocene giant rhino provides insights into Paraceratherium evolution. Commun. Biol. 4, 639 (2021).
Google Scholar
Young, T. P., Stanton, M. L. & Christian, C. E. Effects of natural and simulated herbivory on spine lengths of Acacia drepanolobium in Kenya. Oikos 101, 171–179 (2003).
Karban, R. & Myers, J. H. Induced plant responses to herbivory. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 20, 331–348 (1989).
Huntly, N. Herbivores and the dynamics of communities and ecosystems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 22, 477–503 (1991).
Asner, G. P. et al. Large-scale impacts of herbivores on the structural diversity of African savannas. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106, 4947–4952 (2009).
Google Scholar
Sankaran, M., Augustine, D. J. & Ratnam, J. Native ungulates of diverse body sizes collectively regulate long‐term woody plant demography and structure of a semi‐arid savanna. J. Ecol. 101, 1389–1399 (2013).
Staver, A. C. & Bond, W. J. Is there a ‘browse trap’? Dynamics of herbivore impacts on trees and grasses in an African savanna. J. Ecol. 102, 595–602 (2014).
Bakker, E. S. et al. Combining paleo-data and modern exclosure experiments to assess the impact of megafauna extinctions on woody vegetation. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 113, 847–855 (2016).
Google Scholar
Spicer, R. A. et al. The topographic evolution of the Tibetan Region as revealed by palaeontology. Palaeobio. Palaeoenv. 101, 213–243 (2021).
Rowley, D. B. & Currie, B. S. Palaeo-altimetry of the late Eocene to Miocene Lunpola basin, central Tibet. Nature 439, 677–681 (2006).
Google Scholar
Sun, J. M. et al. Palynological evidence for the latest Oligocene-early Miocene paleoelevation estimate in the Lunpola Basin, central Tibet. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 399, 21–30 (2014).
DeCelles, P. G., Kapp, P., Ding, L. & Gehrels, G. E. Late Cretaceous to middle Tertiary basin evolution in the central Tibetan Plateau: Changing environments in response to tectonic partitioning, aridification, and regional elevation gain. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 119, 654–680 (2007).
Google Scholar
Tang, H. et al. Extinct genus Lagokarpos reveals a biogeographic connection between Tibet and other regions in the Northern Hemisphere during the Paleogene. J. Syst. Evol. 57, 670–677 (2019).
Wang, T. X. et al. Fossil fruits of Illigera (Hernandiaceae) from the Eocene of central Tibetan Plateau. J. Syst. Evol. 59, 1276–1286 (2021).
Del Rio, C. et al. Asclepiadospermum gen. nov., the earliest fossil record of Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae) from the early Eocene of central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and its biogeographic implications. Am. J. Bot. 107, 126–138 (2020).
Google Scholar
Xu, Z. Y. The Tertiary and its petroleum potential in the Lunpola Basin, Tibet. Oil Gas. Geol. 1, 153–158 (1980).
Zhang, K. X. et al. Paleogene-Neogene stratigraphic realm and sedimentary sequence of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and their response to uplift of the plateau. Sci. China Earth Sci. 53, 1271–1294 (2010).
Google Scholar
Wu, Y. F. & Chen, Y. Y. Fossil cyprinid fishes from the late Tertiary of north Xizang, China. Vertebrata Palasiat. 18, 15–20 (1980).
Wu, F. X., Miao, D. S., Chang, M. M., Shi, G. L. & Wang, N. Fossil climbing perch and associated plant megafossils indicate a warm and wet central Tibet during the late Oligocene. Sci. Rep. 7, 878 (2017).
Google Scholar
Cai, C. Y., Huang, D. Y., Wu, F. X., Zhao, M. & Wang, N. Tertiary water striders (Hemiptera, Gerromorpha, Gerridae) from the central Tibetan Plateau and their palaeobiogeographic implications. J. Asian Earth Sci. 175, 121–127 (2017).
Google Scholar
Low, S. L. et al. Oligocene Limnobiophyllum (Araceae) from the central Tibetan Plateau and its evolutionary and palaeoenvironmental implications. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 18, 415–431 (2020).
Bell, A. D. & Bryan, A. Plant Form: An Illustrated Guide to Flowering Plant Morphology (Timber Press, 2008).
Zanne, A. E. et al. Three keys to the radiation of angiosperms into freezing environments. Nature 506, 89–92 (2014).
Google Scholar
Revell, L. J. phytools: an R package for phylogenetic comparative biology (and other things). Methods Ecol. Evol. 3, 217–223 (2012).
Paradis, E. & Schliep, K. ape 5.0: an environment for modern phylogenetics and evolutionary analyses in R. Bioinformatics. 35, 526–528 (2019).
Google Scholar
Harmon, L. J., Weir, J. T., Brock, C. D., Glor, R. E. & Challenger, W. GEIGER: investigating evolutionary radiations. Bioinformatics. 24, 129–131 (2008).
Google Scholar
Maddison, W. P. Confounding asymmetries in evolutionary diversification and character change. Evolution 60, 1743–1746 (2006).
Google Scholar
Forest, C. E., Molnar, P. & Emanuel, K. A. Palaeoaltimetry from energy conservation principles. Nature 374, 347–350 (1995).
Google Scholar
Valdes, P. J. et al. The BRIDGE HadCM3 family of climate models: HadCM3@ Bristol v1.0. Geosci. Model Dev. 10, 3715–3743 (2017).
Google Scholar
Gough, D. O. Solar interior structure and luminosity variations. Sol. Phys. 74, 21–34 (1981).
Google Scholar
Foster, G. L., Royer, D. L. & Lunt, D. J. Future climate forcing potentially without precedent in the last 420 million years. Nat. Commun. 8, 14845 (2017).
Google Scholar
Cox, P. M. Description of the “TRIFFID” Dynamic Global Vegetation Model. 1–16 (Met Office Hadley Centre, 2001).
Cox, P., Huntingford, C. & Harding, R. A canopy conductance and photosynthesis model for use in a GCM land surface scheme. J. Hydrol. 212, 79–94 (1998).
Google Scholar
McInerney, F. A., Strömberg, C. A. E. & White, J. W. C. The Neogene transition from C3 to C4 grasslands in North America stable carbon isotope ratios of fossil phytoliths. Paleobiology 37, 23–49 (2011).
Lu, H. Y. et al. Phytoliths as quantitative indicators for the reconstruction of past environmental conditions in China II: palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Loess Plateau. Quat. Sci. Rev. 25, 945–959 (2006).
Google Scholar
Source: Ecology - nature.com