Satellite view of the Helanshan Mountains, China Photograph by USGS   Palaearctic Temperate Coniferous Forests   9,500 square miles (24,700 square kilometers) -- about the size of Maryland Relatively Stable/Intact

· A Mountain Island
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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A Mountain Island

Isolated mountains often seem like islands in the sky, rising up from semi-arid desert regions and providing habitat for plants and animals found nowhere else in the area. This is the case with the mountains of the Helan Shan Montane Coniferous Forests ecoregion. The region has not been well-studied, but one endemic pika species (a small, rabbitlike mammal) is known to be from the Helan Shan Mountains area.

Special Features

The Helan Mountains separate the dry Ordos Plateau and fertile Yellow River Valley from western deserts. They run about 110 miles (180 km) long and reach heights of nearly 12,000 feet (3600 m). More than one million years ago, glaciers covered the highest peaks.

	Pikas have lived in Asia for 15 million years. These small animals are well-equipped for life in the mountains. They eat weeds, grasses, and shrubs, and have sharp, curved claws that help them climb steep rocks. The endangered Helan Shan pika in the Helan Mountains doesn't live anywhere else in the world.

Wild Side

Some species of trees and shrubs are perfectly adapted to the dry soil of the Helan Mountains, including rose, elm, and juniper. Lower slopes are covered with shrubby Siberian elms growing in sandy streambeds. Dense conifer forests on the highest peaks are a mix of dragon spruce, birch, and poplar. Chinese red pine grows well in valleys, where the weather is warm and dry in the summer. The Helan Shan Nature Reserve protects Qinghai and spruce trees, as well as rare legumes, lilacs, and other plants. Black storks and endemic blue-eared pheasants fly throughout the reserve. Herds of blue sheep, rare argali sheep, and moose can be seen grazing and climbing hills, while the endangered native Helanshan pika scurries about. Other hoofed animals, wolves, and black and brown bears also frequent the ecoregion.

Cause for Concern

Large numbers of spruce and other trees have been cut down for timber. Hunting has reduced the numbers of some animal populations and threatens the survival of native blue sheep.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.