Aim Atmospheric CO 2 concentrations depend, in part, on the amount of biomass locked up in terrestrial vegetation. Information on the causes of a broad‐scale vegetation transition and associated loss of biomass is thus of critical interest for understanding global palaeoclimatic changes. Pollen records from the north‐eastern Tibet‐Qinghai Plateau reveal a dramatic and extensive forest decline beginning c . 6000 cal. yr bp . Th...