The Nenjiang River grassland

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

(WWF ID: PA0903) covers the low wetlands of the lower

Nen River The Nen River or Nenjiang (), or Nonni () is a river in Northeast China. The Nen River flows through the northern part of Heilongjiang Province and the northeastern section of Inner Mongolia, some parts of the river forming the border between the ...

(Nenjiang River) in northeast China. The region is known for supporting migratory and permanent nesting populations of a variety of migratory waterfowl, including six species of crane.

Location and description

The Nenjiang River plain is surrounded by low mountains - the

Lesser Khingan Lesser Khingan (; russian: Малый Хинган, ''Maly Khingan'') is a mountain range in China's Heilongjiang province and the adjacent parts of Russia's Amur Oblast and Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

to the west, the

Greater Khingan The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range (; IPA: ), is a -long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of th ...

to the north, and the

Changbai Mountains The Changbai Mountains (simplified Chinese:长白山; traditional Chinese:長白山) are a major mountain range in Northeast Asia that extends from the Northeast Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, across the border between ...

along the Korean border to the south. The Nenjiang River carries sediment down from the north, before emptying into the

Songhua River The Songhua Postal Romanization, or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary List of rivers of China, rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Chang ...

in the ecoregion. Because the surrounding plain is relatively poorly drained, the grasslands are periodically flooded.

Climate

The climate of the Nenjiang ecoregion is '' Humid continental climate, hot summer'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(Dwa)), with a dry winter. This climate is characterized by large seasonal temperature differentials and a hot summer (at least one month averaging over ), and cold winters having monthly precipitation less than one-tenth of the wettest summer month. Mean annual precipitation is 400 to 450 mm/year, concentrated in the spring and summer rainy season.

Flora and fauna

The ecoregion's habitats are characterized by patches of swampy coniferous forests (Larch (

Larix gmelini ''Larix gmelinii'', the Dahurian larch or Gmelin larch, is a species of larch native to eastern Siberia and adjacent northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China (Heilongjiang), South Korea and North Korea. Description ''Larix gmelinii'' is a me ...

) with an under-story of birch (

Betula A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

)) surrounded by meadows of grasses and sedges. Also among the meadows are freshwater or brackish lakes edged with reed beds. 丹顶鹤6，扎龙2017

The extensive network of rivers and lakes, and seasonally flooded wetlands, are notable for supporting several species of crane, including breeding populations of the endangered

Red-crowned crane The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cran ...

, the vulnerable

White-naped crane The white-naped crane (''Antigone vipio'') is a bird of the crane family. It is a large bird, long, about tall, and weighing about , with pinkish legs, a grey-and-white-striped neck, and a red face patch. Distribution The white-naped crane br ...

, and the critically endangered

Siberian crane The Siberian crane (''Leucogeranus leucogeranus''), also known as the Siberian white crane or the snow crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. They are distinctive among the cranes: adults are nearly all snowy white, except for their ...

. A permanent population of 350 red-crowned cranes winter in the ecoregion. The wetlands also support 42 species of fish, and several species of amphibians, including the Heilongjiang brown frog (

Rana amurensis ''Rana amurensis'' (Khabarovsk frog, Siberian wood frog, Heilongjiang brown frog or Amur brown frog) is a species of true frog found in northern Asia. It ranges across western Siberia, as well as northeastern China, northeastern Mongolia, and on ...

Protected areas

Within the ecoregion are two significant protected areas: *

Zhalong Nature Reserve Zhalong Nature Preserve () is a wetland reserve in Heilongjiang province, China.Riley 2005: 195 History Established in 1979, the marshland is a major migratory route for birds from the Arctic migrating to South East Asia and is one of the few ...

. A complex of marshes and ponds supporting migratory and captive populations of endangered cranes. A Ramsar wetland of international importance. () * Momoge Nature Reserve. Wetlands in the transition zone between grasslands and desert. A Ramsar wetland of international importance. ()

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of China Flooded grasslands and savannas Palearctic ecoregions

Location and description

Climate

Flora and fauna

Protected areas

See also

References