|
|
|
Forest Biodiversity and Nature
Reserve Management in China
Shirong Liu
Xun Yan
(biographies)
|
|
|
Feature of
Biodiversity in China
China is well known as a great country with a vast territory covering
tropical, subtropical, warm-temperate, temperate and cold-temperate zones. The
complex climates and diverse geography in China provide diversified habitats
suitable for different animal and plant species, and thus make China one of the
mega-diversity countries of the world, ranking eighth in the world. China has
2,340 species of terrestrial vertebrate animals, accounting for 10% of the
world's total. Of the 9,040 bird species in the world, China has 1,186 species,
making up 13% of the world's total. The total number of mammal species in China
accounts for 12% of the world's total. And there are 279 species of amphibious
animals and 376 species of reptiles in China, making up 7% and 6% respectively
of the world's total (see Table 1).
The total number of higher plants in China amounts to 30,000 species
(belonging to 3,700 genera and 470 families), ranking third in the world. China
is one of the countries with most species of woody plants (about 8,000 species),
including more than 2,000 tree species, and 6,000 shrubs, accounting for 40% of
the total in the world. Nearly one third of the 8,000 species of woody plants in
China are endemic species and relic species.
The varied climatic zones and complex geomorphic conditions contribute to the
diversified types of vegetation in China. There are 460 different types of
terrestrial ecosystems in China, including forest, shrubs, meadow, swamp,
grassland, savanna, desert and tundra. Forest is a major vegetation type in
China, accounting for 46% (212 types) of the total 460. The main forest
ecosystems in China can be divided into the following types, such as the
cold-temperate coniferous forests, temperate mixed coniferous and broad-leaved
forests, warm-temperate deciduous broad-leaved and coniferous forests,
subtropical evergreen broad-leaved and coniferous forests and tropical rain
forests and seasonal rain forests. In addition, there are typically vertical
spectrums of forest vegetation endemic to China at the temperate and subtropical
mountains.
|
Table 1. Numbers of species of major taxa in China compared to
world total (China Biodiversity
Conservation Action Plan, 1994) |
|
Taxa |
Species in China |
Species in the world |
Species Ratio in % |
|
Fungi |
8,000 |
46,983 |
17.0% |
|
Bacteria |
5,000 |
26,900 |
18.6% |
|
Algae |
500 |
3,060 |
16.3% |
|
Mosses |
2,200 |
16,600 |
13.3% |
|
Ferns |
2,600 |
10,000 |
26.0% |
|
Gymnosperms |
200 |
750 |
37.8% |
|
Angiosperms |
25,000 |
220,000 |
11.4% |
|
Insects |
40,000 |
751,000 |
5.3% |
|
Fish |
2,804 |
19,056 |
12.1% |
|
Amphibians |
279 |
4,184 |
7.0% |
|
Reptiles |
376 |
6,300 |
6.0% |
|
Birds |
1,186 |
9,040 |
13.1% |
|
Mammals |
499 |
4,000 |
12.5% |
The fourth National Forest Resource Inventory (1989-1993) indicated that the
land area for forestry purposes is 262.89 million ha, with a forest area of
133.7 million ha and a forest cover of 13.92% (see Table 2). The total area of
natural forests is about 87.27 million ha, accounting for 65.3% of the total
forest area.
|
Table 2. The Fourth Forest Resource Inventory (1989-1993) |
|
Items |
Survey data |
Net increase compared to previous inventory（1984－1988） |
|
Forestry-owned land area |
262.89 million ha |
|
|
Forested area |
133.70 million ha |
8.03 million ha, with the annual average increment of 2.04 million ha |
|
Forest coverage |
13.92％ |
0.94％，with the annual average growth
of 0.20% |
|
Total standing stock volume |
11.785 billion m3 |
409 million m3, with the annual average increment of 98.5712
million m3 |
|
Forest stocking volume |
10.137 billion m3 |
|
It is obvious that conservation and utilization of biodiversity in China is
critical to sustain a population of 1.2 billion people, healthy social and
economic development, and to maintain the earth system and future human survival
and development in the word as well.
|
|
