Mountains Of Southwest China
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Mountains Of Southwest China
The Mountains of Southwest China is a biodiversity hotspot designated by Conservation International which includes several temperate coniferous forests in southwestern China, which lie in the river valleys on the southeastern corner of the Tibetan plateau, between the alpine scrublands and steppes of the Tibetan Plateau and the temperate broadleaf and mixed and subtropical moist broadleaf forests of central and southeastern China and northern Myanmar. The hotspot is mostly in China, in the provinces of Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu, and extending into the northwestern Myanmar. The ecoregions in the hotspot include: * Hengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests * Nujiang Lancang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests * Qionglai-Minshan conifer forests (in the Qionglai and Min mountains of central and northern Sichuan; home to Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries) See also * Zomia (geography) The term Southeast Asian Massif was proposed in 1997 by anthropologist Jean Mi ...
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Biodiversity Hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the concept was revised following thorough analysis by Myers and others into “Hotspots: Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions” and a paper published in the journal ''Nature'', both in 2000. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers' 2000 edition of the hotspot map, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (more than 0.5% of the world's total) as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation. Globally, 36 zones qualify under this definition. These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a high share of those species as endemics. Some of these hotspots support up ...
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Hengduan Mountains Subalpine Conifer Forests
The Hengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests are a temperate forest in the Hengduan Mountains of southwestern China. The forests extend within the Jinsha (upper Yangtze) and Yalong River valleys from approximately 32°N to 27°N. In addition, a portion of the Anning River valley and Mianmian Mountains near Lugu Lake support the subalpine conifer forests. This region covers northern Yunnan Province, western Sichuan Province, and the extreme eastern edge of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Hengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests are one zone in a range of montane ecosystems that transition between tropical and temperate ecoregions along the southeastern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau. The Hengduan forests reach elevations higher than and extend to the treeline, beyond which are montane grasslands and shrublands classified as the Southeast Tibet shrub and meadows. The Hengduan conifer forests are separated into two arms by the Shaluli Mountains. Environmental group ...
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Montane Forests
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial factor in shaping plant community, biodiversity, metabolic processes and ecosystem dynamics for montane ecosystems. Dense montane forests are common at moderate elevations, due to moderate temperatures and high rainfall. At higher elevations, the climate is harsher, with lower temperatures and higher winds, preventing the growth of trees and causing the plant community to transition to montane grasslands, shrublands or alpine tundra. Due to the unique climate conditions of montane ecosystems, they contain increased numbers of endemic species. Montane ecosystems also exhibit variation in ecosystem services, which include carbon storage and water supply. Life zones As elevation increases, the climate becomes cooler, due to a decrease in a ...
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Zomia (geography)
The term Southeast Asian Massif was proposed in 1997 by anthropologist Jean Michaud to discuss the human societies inhabiting the lands above approximately in the southeastern portion of the Asian landmass, thus not merely in the uplands of conventional Mainland Southeast Asia. It concerns highlands overlapping parts of 10 countries: southwest China, Northeast India, eastern Bangladesh, and all the highlands of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia, and Taiwan. The indigenous population encompassed within these limits numbers approximately 100 million, not counting migrants from surrounding lowland majority groups who came to settle in the highlands over the last few centuries. The notion of the Southeast Asian Massif overlaps geographically with the eastern segment of Van Schendel's notion of Zomia proposed in 2002, while it overlaps geographically with what political scientist James C. Scott called Zomia in 2009. While the notion of Zomia under ...
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Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries
The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries () located in southwest Sichuan province of China, is the home to more than 30% of the world's giant pandas and is among the most important sites for the captive breeding of these pandas. It covers 9245 km2 with seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks in the Qionglai and Jiajin Mountains. Along with the giant panda, the sanctuary is a refuge to other endangered species such as the red panda, the snow leopard, and the clouded leopard. Outside of the tropical rainforests, it is among the botanically richest sites of the world, and is home to between 5,000 and 6,000 species of flora. It has been noted that the region is similar to the paleo-tropic forests of the Paleogene and Neogene Periods. Because of its biodiversity and conservation of giant pandas, these sanctuaries were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the Unite ...
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Min Mountains
Min Mountains or Minshan () are a mountain range in central China. It runs in the general north-south direction through northern Sichuan (the eastern part of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and adjacent areas of Mianyang Prefecture-level city) and southernmost borderlands of Gansu. The highest elevation is Mount Xuebaoding ("Snow Treasure Peak"), 5588 m and the second highest is Mt Little Xuebaoding ("Little Snow Treasure Peak"), 5443m. Geography The Min mountain range is a southern prolongation of the Kunlun Mountains that separates the basins of two major rivers of Sichuan: the Min River (to the west) and the Jialing River (to the east). Both rivers flow in the general southern direction, and are tributaries of the Yangtze. The Min Mountains are part of a wider mountainous region: *Amne Machin: The range located to the far west, known to the ancient Chinese as Mount Jishi (積石山, 积石山, Jīshíshān), part of the Kunlun Mountains. * Xiqing Mo ...
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Qionglai Mountains
Qionglai Mountains () is a mountain range in the Sichuan Province of China. It runs in the general north-south direction, and is located mostly within the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, in the north-central part of the province. Geography The Qionglai Range separates the basins of two major rivers of Sichuan: the Dadu River (to the west) and the Min River (to the east). Both rivers flow in the general southern direction, and are tributaries of the Yangtze. The highest point of the Qionglai Mountains is Mount Siguniang ( 四姑娘山, "Four Girls' Mountain"), 6250 m in elevation; it is located in the southern part of the range. Some of the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - in particular, the Wolong Nature Reserve and the Mt. Siguniang Scenic Park () are located nearby. Ecology The characteristic ecosystem of the Qionglai Mountains and the Min Mountains (a smaller mountain range which is located to the northeast of the Qionglai, separated from it by the M ...
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Nujiang Lancang Gorge Alpine Conifer And Mixed Forests
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. Geography The Nujiang Lancang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests stretch from southern Qinghai and eastern Tibet Autonomous Region in the north to Yunnan Province in the south. Portions of the forests also extend into extreme western Sichuan (China) and eastern Kachin State (Myanmar). The primary physical features to support the Nujiang forests are the Nu (Salween) and Lancang (Mekong) River valleys from approximately elevation to elevation. The southern part of this ecoregion forms the core of the Three Parallel Rivers UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to the mountain valleys, the Nujiang Lancang Gorge alpine conifer and mixe ...
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Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and borders Mongolia ( Govi-Altai Province), Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. Part of Gansu's territory is located in the Gobi Desert. The Qilian mountains are located in the south of the Province. Gansu has a population of 26 million, ranking 22nd in China. Its population is mostly Han, along with Hui, Dongxiang and Tibetan minorities. The most common language is Mandarin. Gansu is among the poorest administrative divisions in China, ranking 31st, last place, in GDP per capita as of 2019. The State of Qin originated in what is now southeastern Gansu ...
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Conservation International
Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The organization employs nearly 1,000 people and works with more than 2,000 partners in 29 countries. CI has helped support 1,200 protected areas and interventions across 77 countries, protecting more than 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) of land and sea. History Conservation International was founded in 1987 with the goal of protecting nature for the benefit of people. In 1989, CI formally committed to the protection of biodiversity hotspots, ultimately identifying 36 such hotspots around the world and contributing to their protection. The model of protecting hotspots became a key way for organizations to do conservation work. On July 1, 2017, Peter Seligmann stepped down as CEO of CI and a new executive team made up of ...
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