The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an area sensitive to global climate change, and land use/land cover change (LUCC) plays a vital role in regulating climate system at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study, we analyzed the temporal and spatial trend of precipitation and the characteristics of LUCC on the QTP. Meanwhile, we also used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) as an indicator of LUCC to discuss the relationship between LUCC and precipitation. The results show the following: (1) Annual precipitation showed a fluctuant upward trend at a rate of 11.5 mm/decade in this area from 1967 to 2016; three periods (i.e., 22 years, 12 years, and 2 years) of oscillations in annual precipitation were observed, in which expectant 22 years is the main oscillation period. It was predicted that QTP will still be in the stage of increasing precipitation. (2) The LUCC of the plateau changed apparently from 1980 to 2018. The area of grassland decreased by 9.47%, and the area of unused land increased by 7.25%. From the perspective of spatial distribution, the transfer of grassland to unused land occurred in the western part of the QTP, while the reverse transfer was mainly distributed in the northwestern part of the QTP. (3) NDVI in the northern and southwestern parts of the QTP is positively correlated with precipitation, while negative correlations are mainly distributed in the southeast of the QTP, including parts of Sichuan and Yunnan Province. Our results show that precipitation in the QTP has shown a fluctuating growth trend in recent years, and precipitation and NDVI are mainly positively correlated. Furthermore, we hope that this work can provide a theoretical basis for predicting regional hydrology, climate change, and LUCC research.

Mining and industrial activities are the primary sources of soil pollution in the open-pit coal mine. The concentrations of PAHs in 11 sampling sites in the industrial district and 9 sampling sites with different land use types in Pingshuo open-pit coal mine, China, were measured to investigate the distributions of PAHs and possible sources in soil profiles (0–100 cm). In the topsoil layer (0–20 cm), concentrations of 16 PAHs ranged from 2.15 to 33.51 mg kg⁻¹, with a mean value of 11.93 mg kg⁻¹. PAHs were more variable in the middle soil layer (20–50 cm), ranging from 0.199 to 36.888 mg kg⁻¹ with the average value of 9.21 mg kg⁻¹. Comparable extreme concentrations were detected from the samples in the subsoil layer (50–100 cm). Compared with those in topsoil, the average concentrations of the most individual PAH species were less in the middle soil and subsoil layers. The concentrations of most of the individual PAHs in the topsoil were higher than those in the middle soil and subsoil. Distribution patterns of PAHs in the three soil layers correlated well with each other. The high concentration hotspots were concentrated around the old coal washery, reaching about 30 mg kg⁻¹. The average concentrations of PAHs with different rings in the industrial district exceeded those in the other land use types. However, only the concentrations of 5-ring PAHs in topsoil showed difference with different land use types (P < 0.05). Diagnostic ratios and the total index showed that petroleum combustion was the main source of PAHs.