Final Report - Asian Development Bank

TA 4721-PRC: Preparing the Shaanxi-Qinling Mountains Integrated Ecosystem Management Project
Final Report Appendix 5
4. Biogeography
14. Chinese life forms occur in two main biogeographic realms, the Palaearctic and Indo-
Malayan. Southern Shaanxi marks the northern extent of the sub-tropical zone of the Indo-Malayan
Realm, the well-known refuge for animals and plants of the tertiary period (65-1.8 million years BP).
Northern Shaanxi represents the colder temperate climes of the Palearctic Realm. The Indo-Malayan
Realm includes a belt across southern China where tropical and sub-tropical broadleaved evergreen
forests are dominated by plant taxa such as Dipterocarpaceae (dipterocarps), Moraceae (mulberries)
and Lauraceae (laurels). Moving northward the shift to the Palearctic Realm is marked by transition to
forests dominated by deciduous and coniferous taxa including the Fagaceae (oaks) and Pinaceae
(pines). Shaanxi Province lies in the Palearctic Realm and is characterized by biota adapted to
northern climes with cold winters.
15. Xie Yan et al. 3 assessed the biogeography of China on the basis of plant and mammal
distributions. At the broadest scale the Qinling was assigned to the Northeast China area (Area I). At
the next lower level the Qinling was placed in one Sub-area, Central China (Sub-area IIa). At the next
lower level the Qinling was assigned to one region, Qinling and Daba Mountains mixed forest (Region
9). At the lowest level of classification the Qinling is sufficiently important in biogeographic terms to
occupy a single unit of its own, Unit 46, Qinling Mountains.
B. Qinling Biodiversity
16. The region was free of ice during the most recent glacial period from 10,000-13,000 years
BP and as a result provided refuge for a wide variety of biota that did not survive glaciation in areas
only slightly further north. The Qinling supports a rich wildlife resource in spite of environmental
degradation over recent centuries (Table 1).
17. The Qinling is well forested: It represents 0.6 percent of China’s land area but 1.1 percent of
China’s forests (Table 2). On only 1.1 percent of China’s forested area, the Qinling supports nearly 14
percent of China’s vascular plant biodiversity and over 17 percent of China’s vertebrate fauna
biodiversity.
18. Based on its high levels of biodiversity (and its importance as part of the Yellow and Yangzi
River basins) the Qinling was identified by SEPA as one of 10 national pilot sites for establishment of
ecological function protection areas (see Section 7.1.3). A second testament to the importance of the
biodiversity of the Qinling is its designation as one of 16 biodiversity hotspots in China designated in
the National Forestry Nature Reserve System Plan. The Daba range immediately south of the Qinling
was also selected as one of the 16 hotspots. Together they account for one eighth of the biodiversity
hotspots identified in the SFA plan 4 . These two areas are combined in SEPA’s ecological function
conservation area in the Qinling.
19. Because of the rich biodiversity in the region, it is not feasible to address the conservation
status and requirements of all 3769 vascular plants and 577 vertebrate animal species. For this
reason this biodiversity assessment addresses species considered to be of regional, national, or
global conservation concern. Only those species listed as threatened by IUCN-World Conservation
Union (IUCN), listed in China’s Red Data Book (RDB), restricted in international trade by the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), or included in conservation
treaties are addressed in this summary.
3
Yan Xie, J. MacKinnon and Dianmo Li. 2004. Study on biogeographical divisions of China. Biodiversity and
Conservation 13: 1391–1417.
4
Li Diqiang, Song Yangling and Ouyang Zhiyun. 2003. Research on the National Forestry Nature Reserve
System Plan. World Bank-GEF Forest Resources Development and Protection Project, Nature Reserves
Management Project. China Land Press, Beijing, in Chinese and English.
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