| QTP | Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| EAMS | East Asian monsoon system |
| EASM | East Asian summer monsoon |
| EAWM | East Asian winter monsoon |
| Ma | Million years ago |
| cpDNA | chloroplast DNA |
| GPS | global positioning system |
| AMOVA | analysis of molecular variance |
| ML | Maximum likelihood |
| RASP | reconstruct ancestral state in phylogenies |
| BSP | Bayesian skyline plot |
| MDA | mismatch distribution analysis |
| ENM | ecological niche modeling |
| LGM | Last Glacial Maximum |
| LIG | Last Inter-Glacial |