System dynamics for modeling regional integrated development as applied to the Tibetan Plateau

System dynamics provides strong support for research in regional integrated development as tools of modeling．In this study, system dynamics literature on modeling and analysis of regional integrated development were retrieved from Web of Science．Retrieved literature was analyzed by 4 parameters: trends, strengths, journals, topics．The keyword “Tibetan Plateau” was then added in further retrievals．We found that these studies developed slowly initially, but the current development momentum was rapid, indicating increased popularity of system dynamics in the study of regional integrated development．The number of published articles from China was found to far exceed other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom．But the influence of Chinese scholars was still relatively weak．Five of the top ten most-cited authors were from America．Only one Chinese author was on the list of top ten most-cited authors．The major journals involved environmental science and ecology, all with high impact factors．Studies were found to focus on global issues such as carbon emission, water management, food and energy．At present, system dynamics studies of regional integrated development in the Tibetan Plateau is still at an early stage and we have yet to see its huge potentials．System dynamics should play more important roles in the establishment of bidirectional coupled human-environment system models in the region．Specifically, model parts of environment changes and their influences on socioeconomic sectors should be focused and optimized to better simulate complex influence of human activities on regional coupled human-environment system, to facilitate practices of governance of regional high-quality development．