The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding mountains, often termed the Third Pole, contain more ice than anywhere outside the Arctic and Antarctic (1). This region is also the source of the nine largest rivers in Asia, providing fresh water, food, and other ecosystem services to more than 1.5 billion people (2). Climate and topography vary greatly across the region, promoting rich biodiversity from species to ecosystems. Unfortunately, the Third Pole region is highly vulnerable to environmental changes (2).
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Liu et al. (2018) studied this question.