Global 200 Ecoregions

Safeguarding the Natural Heritage of China Sichuan/Yunnan Temperate Forests


 
Major Habitat Type
Temperate Conifer & Broadleaf Forests

Biogeographic Region
Palearctic

Location
South-central China



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Biological Diversity

The People

The Threat

The Challenge

The Response


Summary


The forests of central and southern China harbour some of the world's richest temperate biological assemblages. However, pressure from timber cutting and agricultural and industrial development is threatening to destroy the cultural and natural heritage of this region ­ one of the most diverse and ecologically important regions of eastern Asia.

Sub-tropical evergreen broadleaf forest is the dominant vegetation of this ecoregion, which also includes alpine ecosystems, steppe grasslands and wetlands. Alpine vegetation of the Qiinghai-Tibet plateau predominates in the west and the higher regions of the Hengduan Mountains of the south-west. Deciduous broadleaved forests of the warm-temperate zone occur north of the Province.

While the biological richness of China and Sichuan is well recognized, international attention has largely focused on a single species which has become the hallmark for conservation efforts worldwide - the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). This relic species has long been an enigma to taxonomists and scientists. Although bear-like, the panda has a highly specialized diet of bamboo shoots and must feed for an average of 14 hours each day in order to survive. With such a restricted diet, pandas may encounter serious problems because bamboo plants flower at regular intervals (between 10 and 100 years) and then die. Consequently, animals can easily face a severe food crisis and are forced to move to another area in search of alternative food stocks.

Sichuan Province is home to the vast majority of the world's wild pandas. Situated on the western edge of the Province, along the eastern slopes of Qionglai Montain, lies China's most famous protected area, Wolong Nature Reserve (2,000 square kilometres), the base for much of China's research on these animals. Conservation of pandas, as well as countless other rare and interesting species, is completely reliant on the preservation of the forests and woodlands in this region.

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