Near Damxung, Tibet Photograph by Daniel Miller, University of Melbourne   Eastern Asia: Central China Montane Grasslands and Shrublands   105,100 square miles (272,100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Colorado Vulnerable

· Grazers Galore
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Grazers Galore

Wet meadows give way to dry plains and cold deserts in this Central Asian ecoregion. The ecoregion is mostly treeless, but for animals that like grazing on grasses and other low-growing plants, that’s not a problem. A variety of wild grazers roam through the region, including deer and gazelles. And so do people who herd domestic grazing animals such as cattle and goats.

Special Features

You'll find many different kinds of habitats in this high, cold ecoregion. If you traveled from the areas with the highest precipitation to those with the lowest, you'd move from scrublands to meadows to steppes to deserts. Forests grow only in the valleys. The region also contains the headwaters of China's two largest rivers--the Yellow and the Yangzi. Temperatures tend to be extremely cold in this alpine environment, so that even in the warmest month of year, temperatures average no more than 50° F (10° C).

	The white-lipped deer doesn't really have white lips. Instead, it has whitish fur growing across its muzzle.

Wild Side

Among the grazing animals found in this region are white-lipped deer, Tibetan wild asses, Tibetan gazelles, and blue sheep. All of these animals favor alpine shrublands and meadows. These mammals in turn attract a number of large predators. Brown bears and wolves prowl the region, and a few snow leopards are thought to live here, too.

Cause for Concern

Although the vegetation of this region is mostly intact, its animal populations have been gradually declining. The presence of so many herders and their livestock has probably decreased the number of wild animals that the region can support. Hunting and wildlife trade pose increasing threats to many species. And increased immigration to the region from China will probably exacerbate these problems.

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