The growth of the Tibetan Plateau throughout the past 66 million years has profoundly
affected the Asian climate, but how this unparalleled orogenesis might have driven
vegetation and plant diversity changes in eastern Asia is poorly understood. We approach
this question by integrating modeling results and fossil data. We show that growth of north
and northeastern Tibet affects vegetation and, crucially, plant diversity in eastern Asia by
altering the monsoon system. This northern Tibetan orographic change induces a …