| Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests | |
|---|---|
 Broadleaf and mixed forests on karst topography in Wulingyuan | |
 Location of ecoregion | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Palearctic |
| Biome | tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 269,600 km2 (104,100 sq mi) |
| Country | China |
| Provinces | |
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 Much of the original forest has been replaced by secondary forests. [1]
The Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests occupy the eastern portion of the Yungui Plateau. The forests are found throughout most of Guizhou province, extreme northeastern Yunnan, southeastern Sichuan, southeastern Chongqing, southwestern Hubei, and western Hunan. [1]
The geology in this part of the Yungui Plateau is composed of mostly Paleozoic limestone where there are poor quality soils and extreme karst topography. [1] Human development in this part of China has been limited due to the nature of terrain where large pits, caves, natural arches, and disappearing rivers are not uncommon. [2] [ page needed ]
Despite the high level of precipitation, flora in this ecoregion is prone to drought stress because karstic soils here are porous and do not retain water. In the northern parts of the Guizhou Plateau ecoregion, Chinese red pine is a major species while Yunnan pine dominates in the south. Broadleaf taxa include Rhododendron , Quercus , Sterculia , Erythrina , Ficus , Eugenia , and Helicia . [1]
The first-class protected plant species in the Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests are Cathaya argyrophylla , Taiwania flousiana , Cyathea spinulosa , and the revered Davidia involucrata . [1]
The Guizhou snub-nosed monkey is endemic to this ecoregion. Other notable animal species include the Assamese macaque, Francois’ leaf monkey, clouded leopard, leopard, tiger, Sika deer, and red goral. [1]
While much of the original subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests in this ecoregion has been extirpated due to habitat conversion, secondary forests, seasonal tropical forests, and conifer forests now dominate. Remaining tracts of the original forest vegetation can still be found in protected areas and along inaccessible hills. [1] Protected areas include Wulingyuan, Mount Fanjing, and Zhangjiajie. [2] [ page needed ]
The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". For example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none.
Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the foothills of the Himalayas, between the Teesta and Mahananda rivers. Situated in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India; it comes under Darjeeling Wildlife division and can be reached from Siliguri in 30 minutes. Sukna, the gateway to the sanctuary, is only 13 km from Siliguri and 28 km from Bagdogra airport. The sanctuary sprawls over 159 km2 of reserve forest and was started as a game sanctuary in 1955. In 1959, it got the status of a sanctuary mainly to protect the Indian bison and royal Bengal tiger, which were facing the threat of extinction.
The Qinling or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan, are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow River systems, providing a natural boundary between North and South China and support a huge variety of plant and wildlife, some of which is found nowhere else on earth.
The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests is an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. It consists of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States.
The Hengduan Mountains are a group of mountain ranges in southwest China that connect the southeast portions of the Tibetan Plateau with the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. The Hengduan Mountains are primarily large north-south mountain ranges that effectively separate lowlands in northern Myanmar from the lowlands of the Sichuan Basin. These ranges are characterized by significant vertical relief originating from the Indian subcontinent's collision with the Eurasian Plate, and further carved out by the major rivers draining the eastern Tibetan Plateau. These rivers, the Yangtze, Mekong, and Salween, are recognized today as the Three Parallel Rivers UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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.
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.
Castanopsis hystrix or Patle katus is a species of evergreen broadleaf tree, which grows up to 30 meters in height.
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.
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.
The Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau or Yungui Plateau is a highland region located in southwest China. The region is primarily spread over the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou. In the southwest, the Yungui is a true plateau with relatively flatter highland areas, while in the northeast, the Yungui is a generally mountainous area of rolling hills, gorges, and karst topography.
The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It lies within the drainage basins of the upper reaches of the Jinsha (Yangtze), Lancang (Mekong) and Nujiang (Salween) rivers, in the Yunnan section of the Hengduan Mountains.
The Mizoram–Manipur–Kachin rain forests is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion which occupies the lower hillsides of the mountainous border region joining India, Bangladesh, and Burma (Myanmar) and China's Yunnan Province. The ecoregion covers an area of 135,600 square kilometres (52,400 sq mi). Located where the biotas of the Indian Subcontinent and Indochina 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.
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.
The Middle Atlantic coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forest mixed with patches of evergreen broadleaved forests along the coast of the southeastern United States.
The Daba Mountains evergreen forests are a Global 200 endangered ecoregion located on the Daba Mountains in China. 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. The Daba Mountains evergreen forests cover areas of northeast Sichuan Province, southern Shaanxi Province, the northern half of Chongqing Municipality, and western Hubei Province.
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.
The Northern Annamites rain forests ecoregion covers the rugged and relatively unexplored northern Annamite Mountains of central Laos and Vietnam. There are high numbers of endemic plant species, and the relative remoteness and isolation of the area supports many rare and endangered animals. Rainfall is somewhat less than the lowland rainforest of the lower elevations in Vietnam, and the temperatures slightly cooler due to the higher elevation.