Asia: Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, China
Map:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1213/multiple=1&unique_number=1390
Photos:
http://travelneu.com/tourism/china/sichuan-giant-panda-sanctuaries http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/122644
Overview:
The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries are located in Wolong, Mt Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains. More than 30% of the world’s highly endangered panda live in the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries. Within the area, there are seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks. In addition to the endangered pandas, the sanctuaries are also home to other endangered animals like the clouded and snow leopards.
Temperature:
The Giant Panda Sanctuaries experience all four seasons. Throughout the year, the Giant Panda Sanctuaries experience an average temperature of 55.04oF. During the summer months, specifically around the month of August, the temperatures reach a high of 78.8oF. In the Spring, the temperature is about 50oF-72oF. As winter approaches, the temperatures drop to a low of 29.1 oF. In Autumn, the temperature is about 50oF-72oF.
https://www.worldweatheronline.com/wolong-weather-averages/sichuan/cn.aspx
Perception:
Wolong experiences heavy rain, specifically in the summer months.. Precipitation regimes in every year is about 900-1200 millimeter. The sanctuaries experience less rainfall in the winter months (October - April), and have the least rainfall in February (0.7mm in 2016). The most amount of precipitation the location will receive occurs in July (~ 228.47 mm in 2016),
Humidity
In 2016, the humidity in the Giant Panda Sanctuaries stayed consistently between 50-71%. The area experience a high of humidity in July and October with 71%. Conversely, the area experienced a low of humidity of about 50% in February.
Wind and Air Masses:
The wind pattern that most affects the Giant Panda Sanctuaries is located in the westerlies. The location is at 32°N in a mountain range, so the wind direction varies greatly over the year but one can assume that the average wind direction is from the west. In the image below, the area is considered part of the cT air mass between 40°N and 20°N.
http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-166713/In-the-principal-world-air-masses-continental-Arctic-continental-polar
Climate:
The Giant Panda Sanctuaries have a Highland, moist subtropical climate. The climate consists of warm temperature, high precipitation and overall large climate variations due to the mountain ranges.
Weather Patterns:
Monsoons are a typical weather pattern that affect the Giant Panda Sanctuaries location mainly in the summer months. In addition to the fact that our location is just located in an overall moist climate, climate changes also causes these patterns. Climate change will cause the atmosphere to get warmer and hold more moisture. Consequently, this affects the intensity of the downpours in our area.
Geography:
This region of China is considered part of the Palearctic ecozone. The Palearctic ecozone is the largest in the world and covers Asia north of the himalayas, Europe, Japan, Iceland, and northern Africa. It can encompass many different types of habitats including broadleaf forests, deserts, rainforests, and taiga. The region containing the Giant Panda Sanctuary is considered broadleaf forest, where most life is found on the forest floor.
The nature reserves are also a part of the Temperate Coniferous Forest biome (i.e., Wolong, Sichuan, China). This biome has warm summers and cool winters. The forests generally consist of an overstory and understory layer, and the ground may be home to some shrubs, though this is not always the case. These forests refresh themselves through wildfires, which are completely normal phenomenons in these forests.6
Biogeography:
Vegetation:
This area is a mountainous regious covered by a vast amount of trees and shrubs. Specific forest types can be seen throughout the southern mountains, determined based on the dominant conifer-type tree. These dominant conifers can emerge from the lower canopy (this includes broadleaf trees). The lower canopy can develop close together under the sparse canopy of conifers, providing the basis for slender subalpine bamboo and ferns to flourish, as can be seen in the image above [1]. Elevations vary widely across the landscape (2,800m-4,000m). This variation means that in different places, alternate species of trees flourish than would be expected normally (i.e., sunny slopes support oak much higher into the subalpine region than is seen in other areas). The variation in weather conditions, such as snow, dry/sunny areas, and persistent cloudiness also determines which trees flourish.5
Animals:
Because the overarching lower canopy allows large quantities of the slender subalpine bamboo to grow on the ground, both the giant panda the red panda are supported in the area as they both use the bamboo as a primary food source. The dense shrubbery and bamboo scrub on the forest floor houses animals such as the Lady Amherst’s pheasant. Patches of wetlands provides important wintering grounds for black-necked cranes and other waterfowl.5
Adaptations:
https://www.organicgardener.com.au/sites/default/files/styles/620x/public/images/blogs
/B23---Himalayacalamus-falconeri-%28cropped%29.jpg?itok=m2T_GMLA
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Wintersweet_
Chimonanthus_praecox_Leaves_3264px.jpg
The majority of plants in this region need an unusually large amount of water and sunlight to flourish. Normally, in Sichuan, there is a large amount of rainfall so that the plants had to adapt to the wet conditions with features such as waxy surfaces, rosette structures, and pilosity, which are fine soft hairs. During the cold winters, the plants have evolved features such as thick bark, shallow roots and waxy surfaces, such as in the Chimonanthus family of flowers in the image above. These features increase the survival rates of plants as well as reducing the rate of water loss. Animals in this location have had to adapt to the cold winters with features such as thick coats, resorting to hibernating and living off the built up fat on their bodies, or migrating to warmer regions for the winter. These adaptations ensure the animal's survival.
Environmental Hazards:
Outside of the national park zones, very little of the habitat in the region is protected by the government. This opens doors to villagers from creating and selling wildlife products from the area for tourism purposes. Before 1998 when a logging ban was put into place, logging was responsible for much of the deforestation and erosion in the area. This caused flooding and siltation in lower areas. Even after the ban, however, it is difficult to enforce due to restrictions on the government and the logging ban is not strictly enforced.
Water Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1389739/Chinas-Sichuan-province
-Visiting-lair-Yellow-Dragon.html
Sichuan, China largely contains only small lakes, such as the glacial lakes in Huanglong Natural Preserve; and rivers, such as the Yangtze River that stretches throughout the Panda Sanctuaries and Parks. The Yangtze River flows west to east and divides into 4 smaller strains, the Min, Tuo, Jialing, and Fu Rivers which flow north to south.10 Both the stored groundwater and the water from the rivers is mostly maintained due to the constant rain in the area. Similar to the Rock Pool in Huanglong Natural Preserve as pictured above, as glaciers wore away the land and formed holes in the ground and subsequently melted, glacier lakes were formed with the melted water. Due to the lack of large bodies of water, Sichuan has shallow, local aquifers with a low groundwater recharge.
Landforms:
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/08/14/
sichuan460x276.jpg
Sichuan, China contains a large amount of soil and rock types throughout the Panda Sanctuaries, which allows for a large amount of diversity in the region.11 The area is mostly made up of sedimentary rocks, specifically limestone (i.e. in the mountains). The extensive amounts of rivers and streams in the region allows the sediment to travel throughout the region and assists in the formation of the rocks. Because the location lies in the Sichuan Basin, wind patterns do not have a significant effect on the area.13 The larger landforms in the area can be attributed to the fact that Sichuan China is located near the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian plates. The collision of these plates both forms the mountain ranges and cause earthquakes. One example of the effect of being so close to a plate boundary can be seen in the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan.14 The earthquake subsequently caused landslides, river dams, and extreme aftershocks, affecting the 100 million people that lived in the Sichuan basin area. Many of the villages and towns that were once inhabited are now buried beneath the rubble of the earthquake, seen in the image above.
Sources:
1. https://www.worldweatheronline.com/wolong-weather-averages/sichuan/cn.aspx
2. whc.unesco.org/en/documents/122644
4. https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa0509
5. https://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/temperate-coniferous-forest
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/Temperate_broadleaf_and_mixed_forests
7. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/ecozones/Palearctic_ecozone#broadleafforest
8. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/ecosystems/coniferous_woodland_rev1.shtml
9. http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/habitats/coniferous_forests/animal_life/
10. http://www.accci.com.au/keycity/sichuan.htm
11. http://www.china.org.cn/english/whp/216160.htm
12. https://www.britannica.com/place/Sichuan
13. https://www.britannica.com/place/Sichuan-Basin
14. http://www.tectonics.caltech.edu/outreach/highlights/2008MayChinaEQ/