2025-08-22 中国科学院（CAS）
Paleogeographic maps of the three great Asian plateaus in the Cenozoic (Image by IBCAS)
＜関連情報＞
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/earth/202508/t20250825_1051337.shtml
- https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(25)00192-2
三大アジア高原の形成、気候変動、生物多様性 Formation of three great Asian plateaus, climate change, and biodiversity
Guan-Long Cao ∙ Xiao-Qian Li, ∙ Kun-Li Xiang ∙ … ∙ Rosa del C. Ortiz ∙ Jian Yang ∙ Wei Wang
Trends in Ecology & Evolution Published:August 12, 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.07.008
Highlights
The uplift and outward growth of the three great plateaus in Asia fundamentally changed the Asian landscapes and climates. The current biodiversity of the three plateaus is not a product of the Pleistocene ice age but is the result of a long and complex evolutionary process.
Cenozoic geoclimatic changes have driven biotic evolution on the three great Asian plateaus and adjacent regions during four crucial periods: the Middle–Late Eocene, the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene, the Middle Miocene, and the Late Miocene. The Neogene was a period of marked diversification across the three plateaus and thus led to the formation of modern biotas.
Among the three great Asian plateaus, the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau has the most ancient evolutionary history, the oldest biotic components, and the richest species diversity. The current protected areas may not fully include the hotspots of species diversity on the three plateaus. Therefore, it may be urgent to establish a protected area in areas with high species diversity.
Abstract
The Qinghai–Tibet, Iran, and Mongolia plateaus constitute the largest continuous mountain belt on Earth and harbor the world’s richest temperate alpine ecosystem, but the original timing and evolutionary causes of their biodiversity are poorly understood. Here, we review the geologic and phylogenetic evidence and compare it with the formation processes of the three plateaus. We show that the formation of the three plateaus is a major driver for change in the Asian landscape and biotas. Among the three plateaus, the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau has the most ancient evolutionary history and hosts the oldest biotic components and the highest biodiversity. The Neogene was a period of marked diversification across the three plateaus, thus leading to the formation of modern biotas.
