Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Greater Hinggan Mountains


Ecoregion PA505, Da Hinggan-Dzhagdy Mountains conifer forests, are found in Amur, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia,and Zabaykalsky. A unique flora (Daurian) of larch, oak, hazel, alder, birch, poplar, and elm is found in this mountain area. The forests were mostly uncut until the 20th century and constitute the largest single timber stand in the world. The mountains are the southern limit of wolverines, lynx, and elk.  The Greater Hinggan Mountains divide the Manchurian plain from the Mongolian plateau. The area is the site of one of the largest wildfires in recent history, known as the Black Dragon fire. It took place in 1987. It was started by a temporary employee operating a brush cutter, which caught fire and spread to grasslands and nearby woods on May 6, 1987. Other fires started burning about the same time in Russia and China. The fire eventually burned millions of acres in China and Russia (Pyne, 1989; Salisbury, 1989).

The Gen River and the Genhelengshuiyu Nature Reserve (N51˚0’ E122˚0’) is an Important Bird Area for Baikal teal, redlk-crowned crane, and Siberian crane.

Hanma Nature Reserve, Inner Mongolia (N51˚35’ E122˚42’), is 107,348 ha on the main ridge of the Greater Hinggan Mountains. It is an Important Bird Area for scaly-sided merganser and red-crowned crane.

Huma River Nature Reserve, Heilongjiang (N52˚21’ E124˚48’ west end)  is 60,000 ha and extends along the river from east of Tahe to the confluence with the Heilongjiang River. It is an Important Bird Area for swan goose, lesser white-fronted goose, Baer’s pochard, and scaly-sided merganser.

Huzhong Nature Reserve, Heilongjiang (N51˚37’ E123˚3’), is a conifer forest of 167,213 ha. It is an Important  Bird Area for swan goose, lesser white-fronted goose, Baer’s pochard, and scaly-sided merganser.
Mangui, Inner Mongolia (N52˚8’ E122˚12’) is an Important Bird Area for swan goose, scaly-sided merganser, red-crowned crane, and Siberian crane

Pyne, Stephen J. 1989. Apocalytic Fire and Other Exaggerations. BioScience 39:732-733.
Salisbury, Harrison E. 1989. The Great Black Dragon Fire: A Chinese Inferno. Little, Brown and Company, Boston


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