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Most of China's numerous mountain ranges run east to west, but the Hengduan Mountains stretch north to south. The Hengduan--which means "to transect," or cut downward--is a complex system of high ridges and deep valleys.
This ecoregion is topographically complex. Parallel mountain ranges are separated by deep, narrowly incised river valleys. The subalpine zone in the southern Hengduan Mountains has abundant conifer forests, with distinct forest types of hemlock, spruce, and fir species. Maple, birch, and mountain ash form a lower canopy. Slender subalpine bamboos and ferns flourish in the understory, with mosses and lichen growing on the bamboo leaves. A deep, slowly decomposing litter layer rich with fungi lies on the floor of this forest.
Black-necked cranes and other waterfowl spend the winter at the Baima and Bitihai nature reserves. At least four types of endemic fish live in Lugu Lake, a deep, natural lake set in a landscape of pine-covered highland. Rare Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys forage for lichens, leaves, and the shoots of trees, while red pandas eat bamboo plants. Musk deer roam throughout the ecoregion, but you would be lucky to see an elusive clouded leopard.
The Chinese government established a ban on commercial logging in 1998 because of increased erosion, siltation, and flooding in the lower Yangzi River. But the ban is difficult to enforce in southeastern Tibet. Roads and recreation facilities are being built for tourists visiting the Yulong Nature Protection Area. Local villagers earn money from tourists by posing in phony ethnic costumes that include pelts of red panda and feathers from Lady Amherst’s pheasant. Merchants in towns all over the region sell bear and leopard parts as folk medicine. For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report. All text by World Wildlife Fund © 2001
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