Experimental data of shrub on the Tibetan Plateau

In the growing season of 2019, we selected 63 sites across a 1200 km × 1200 km area with widespread shrub on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (96°21’34”E-103°13’41”E, 31°05’44”N-38°39’51”N, Appendix S1). Sites were separated by at least 30 km. At each site, we set up one large plot (50 m × 50 m) and randomly selected three well-developed and similar-sized shrubs. Beneath each shrub, we set up a 30 cm × 30 cm plot. We also haphazardly set up three plots of the same 30 cm × 30 cm size in nearby open space, at least 5m away from the shrub. In total there were 378 plots across 63 sites.