Daba Mountains evergreen forests

Last updated
Daba Mountains evergreen forests
Shennongjia virgin forest.jpg
Evergreen coniferous forest in Shennongjia
Ecoregion PA0417.jpg
Ecoregion territory (in yellow)
Ecology
Realm Palearctic
Biome Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Geography
Country China
Conservation
Global 200 Yes

The Daba Mountains evergreen forests are a Global 200 endangered ecoregion located on the Daba Mountains in China. [1] The forests are part of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests containing both coniferous and broadleaf trees covering a swath of Central China. Forests here provide a transitional area between evergreen forests to the south and deciduous forests to the north. [1] The Daba Mountains evergreen forests cover areas of northeast Sichuan Province, southern Shaanxi Province, the northern half of Chongqing Municipality, and western Hubei Province. [2]

The Daba Mountains evergreen forests support a wide variety of endemic species. Lower elevations contain oaks and arboreal mints, and higher elevations support pines including the Chinese red pine and Chinese white pine. Some of the other significant tree species include the dawn redwood, dove tree, Tetracentron , Cercidiphyllum japonicum , Emmenopterys henryi , Eucommia ulmoides , Sassafras tzumu , Glyptostrobus pensilis , Castanea mollissima , Quercus myrsinifolia , Quercus acuta , Ilex integra , Machilus thunbergii , Larix gmelinii , Larix sibirica , Larix × czekanowskii , Betula dahurica , Betula pendula , Pinus koraiensis , Pinus sibirica , Pinus sylvestris , Picea obovata , Abies sibirica , Quercus acutissima , Quercus mongolica , Ginkgo biloba , Prunus serrulata , Prunus padus , Tilia amurensis , Salix babylonica , Acer palmatum , Populus tremula , Ulmus davidiana , Ulmus pumila , Pinus pumila , Haloxylon ammodendron , Elaeagnus angustifolia , Tamarix ramosissima , Prunus sibirica , Cinnamomum cassia , Durio zibethinus , Artocarpus heterophyllus , Ficus benghalensis , Gnetum gnemon , Mangifera indica , Toona ciliata , Toona sinensis , Cocos nucifera , Tetrameles nudiflora , Shorea robusta , Camphora officinarum , Tsuga dumosa , Ulmus lanceifolia , Tectona grandis , Terminalia elliptica , and Terminalia bellirica . [1]

Industry in the region has long been dependent on logging and harvesting for medicines. A major protected area of forests is the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve in Hubei.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himalayan subtropical pine forests</span>

The Himalayan subtropical pine forests are a large subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion covering portions of Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast India–Myanmar pine forests</span> Ecoregion in Myanmar and India

The Northeast India-Myanmar pine forests is a montane subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion in the mountains of Northeastern India and adjacent portions of Myanmar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests</span>

The Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests is an ecoregion that extends from the middle hills of central Nepal through Darjeeling into Bhutan and also into the Indian States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It represents the east–west-directed band of subtropical broadleaf forest at an altitude of between 500 and 1,000 m along the Outer Himalayan Range, and includes several forest types traversing an east to west moisture gradient.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests</span> Ecoregion in Taiwan

The Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests is an ecoregion that covers most of the island of Taiwan, with the exception of the southern tip of the island, which constitutes the South Taiwan monsoon rain forests ecoregion. The island's concentrated steep mountains host a range of forest types, from subtropical forests in the lowlands to temperate and alpine or montane forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests</span>

The Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion found in the middle elevations of the eastern Himalayas, including parts of Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. These forests have an outstanding richness of wildlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Indochina subtropical forests</span> Ecoregion in Southeast Asia

The Northern Indochina subtropical forests are a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of northern Indochina, covering portions of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and China's Yunnan Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Indochina

The Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion which occupies the lower hillsides of the mountainous border region joining Bangladesh, China's Yunnan Province, India, and Myanmar. The ecoregion covers an area of 135,600 square kilometres (52,400 sq mi). Located where the biotas of the Indian Subcontinent and the Indochinese Peninsula meet, and in the transition between subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, the Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests are home to great biodiversity. The WWF rates the ecoregion as "Globally Outstanding" in biological distinctiveness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiheiyo evergreen forests</span> Core ecoregion of Japan

The Taiheiyo evergreen forests is a temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion of Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Himalayan broadleaf forests</span> Temperate mixed forest ecoregion in western Himalaya

The Western Himalayan broadleaf forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion which is found in the middle elevations of the western Himalayas, including parts of Nepal, India, and Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Korea evergreen forests</span> Ecoregion in Korea

The Southern Korea evergreen forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion at the southern end of the Korean Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests</span> Ecoregion in Sichuan Basin, China

The Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests are a critically endangered WWF ecoregion. The ecoregion occupies the Sichuan Basin in China and covers an area of 9,816,054 ha. The broadleaf forest habitat once covered the Sichuan Basin, but today is limited to mountains and preserved temple grounds in the basin and around the basin's rim. An especially well-preserved example of remaining forest exists on Mount Emei at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin. The original forests are thought to have been made up of subtropical oaks, laurels, and Schima. Much of the remaining Sichuan Basin has been converted to anthropogenic agricultural use in the last 5,000 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nujiang Lancang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests</span> Ecoregion in Southwestern China

The Nujiang Lancang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in Southwest China and northeastern Myanmar. The forests cover mountains and valleys in the western Hengduan Mountains and because of the extreme topography and relative remoteness, remain one of the best preserved habitats in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yunnan Plateau subtropical evergreen forests</span> Ecoregion in Yunnan Plateau, China

The Yunnan Plateau subtropical evergreen forests is an endangered ecoregion in southwestern China. These forests once covered the western parts of the Yungui Plateau but have been significantly reduced and replaced with agricultural land uses. The Yunnan evergreen forests and the neighbouring Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests are the only two ecoregions in the Palearctic realm to be classified as part of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests</span> Ecoregion in Guizhou Plateau, China

The Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests are a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungui Plateau of China. Much of the original forest has been replaced by secondary forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Changjiang Plain evergreen forests</span> Ecoregion in Central China

The Changjiang Plain evergreen forests ecoregion covers the plain of the Yangtze River (Changjiang) from where it leaves the mountains at the Three Gorges in the west, to the mouth of the Yangtze at the East China Sea. This plain is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, and most of the original oak and conifer forests have long been converted to agriculture. Extensive wetlands, however, provide habitat for migratory waterfowl and for diverse aquatic species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South China–Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests</span> Ecoregion in South China and Vietnam

The South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests ecoregion covers the mountainous coastal region of southeastern China and northeastern Vietnam. The ecoregional also covers the coastal plain along the South China Sea and Hainan Island. The area has significant biodiversity and ecological importance, with high levels of both endemic and threatened species. Rapid urban expansion is reducing biologically-rich forests and wetlands. Ecologically, the subtropical forests are at the northeastern extent of the Indomalayan realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jiang Nan subtropical evergreen forests</span> Ecoregion in Southern China

The Jiang Nan subtropical evergreen forests ecoregion covers the mountainous divide between the lower Yangtze River and the coastal plain of South China. The region is also a climatic divide between the temperate valleys of the north and the subtropical forests of the south. The region is important for biodiversity and endemic species. The rugged limestone karst hills have been relatively protected from conversion to agriculture, and support specialized plant and animal communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Korean deciduous forests</span> Ecoregion in Korea

The Central Korean deciduous forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion on the Korean Peninsula, covering portions of South Korea and North Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests</span> Ecoregion in Japan

The Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests ecoregion stretches for about 700 km (430 mi) along the eastern slopes of the island of Honshu, with some small patches on the southern islands of Shikoku and Kyushu. Lower elevations to the east along the coast are in the Taiheiyo evergreen forests ecoregion; higher elevations to the west are in the Nihonkai montane deciduous forests ecoregion. Characteristic forests are of Japanese beech, stone pine, and spruce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Triangle subtropical forests</span>

The Northern Triangle subtropical forests ecoregion covers remote, mountainous terrain in the far north of Myanmar. Due to the regions isolation it is relatively untouched and unexplored by humans. Over 95% of the ecoregion is covered with closed evergreen forest, and importantly for conservation, these forests exist in large contiguous blocks. As of the late 1990s, 140 mammal species were known to be in the region, and new species, such the Leaf muntjac discovered in 1997, are still being found.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Eastern Asia: Eastern China". WWF. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  2. "Daba Mountains evergreen forests". Global Species. Myers Enterprises II. Retrieved 16 August 2017.