Huang He Plain mixed forests
| Ecoregion: Huang He Plain mixed forests | |
|---|---|
 Farms in Shandong Province, on the Huang He Plain | |
 Ecoregion territory (in purple) | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Palearctic |
| Biome | Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest |
| Geography | |
| Area | 434,200 km2 (167,600 sq mi) |
| Countries | China |
| Coordinates | 37°00′N 112°45′E / 37.000°N 112.750°E |
The Huang He Plain mixed forests ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0424) covers the flat lower ranges of the Yellow River ("Huang He" means Yellow River). This area is generally known as the North China Plain. While there is some forest habitat, the region has mostly been converted to agriculture, being one of the most populous areas in the world (approximately 190 million people).[1][2][3]
Location and description
The Huang He Mixed Forests ecoregion covers the North China plain, a large alluvial plain which collects the deposits of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the Huai River, and the Hai River. The plain is very flat, and averages only 50 meters above sea level.[4] Almost 3% of the land area is urbanized.[5]
Climate
The climate of the ecoregion is Humid continental climate, hot summer (Köppen climate classification (Dwa)), with a dry winter. This climate is characterized by large seasonal temperature differentials and a hot summer (at least four months averaging over 10 °C (50 °F), at least one month averaging over 22 °C (72 °F), and cold winters having monthly precipitation less than one-tenth of the wettest summer month.[6][7]
Flora and fauna
The dominant trees in this ecoregion is Quercus acutissima, Quercus mongolica, Larix gmelinii, Larix sibirica, Larix × czekanowskii, Betula dahurica, Betula pendula, Pinus koraiensis, Pinus sibirica, Pinus sylvestris, Picea obovata, Abies sibirica, Ginkgo biloba, Prunus serrulata, Prunus padus, Tilia amurensis, Salix babylonica, Acer palmatum, Populus tremula, Ulmus pumila, Pinus pumila, Haloxylon ammodendron, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Tamarix ramosissima, and Prunus sibirica. As of 2012, only 15% of the surface area (about 65,000 km2) of the ecoregion was in its natural state; the majority of the land is devoted to agriculture.[5] A 2005 conservation study reported that the Huang He ecoregion was only 3.29% covered by protected areas, and that the area is "now so populated and degraded that options for PA [protected area] development are very limited".[8]
See also
References
- ^ C Michael Hogan. "Huang He Plain Mixed Forests". Encyclopedia of the Earth. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ Wohlfart, Christian; Liu, Gaohuan; Huang, Chong; Kuenzer, Claudia (2016). "A River Basin over the Course of Time: Multi-Temporal Analyses of Land Surface Dynamics in the Yellow River Basin (China) Based on Medium Resolution Remote Sensing Data". Remote Sensing. 8 (3). Remote Sensing 2016: 186. Bibcode:2016RemS....8..186W. doi:10.3390/rs8030186.
- ^ "Map of Ecoregions 2017". Resolve, using WWF data. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ Yang Ming Zhang (2011). "Biodiversity and Biogeography of Rhizobia Associated with Soybean Plants Grown in the North China Plain". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 77 (18). American Society for Microbiology: 6331–6342. Bibcode:2011ApEnM..77.6331Z. doi:10.1128/AEM.00542-11. PMC 3187167. PMID 21784912.
- ^ a b Chunhang He. "Urban expansion dynamics and natural habitat loss in China: a multiscale landscape perspective" (PDF). Global Change Biology (2014). Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ Kottek, M.; Grieser, J.; Beck, C.; Rudolf, B.; Rubel, F. (2006). "World Map of Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Updated" (PDF). Gebrüder Borntraeger 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ "Dataset - Koppen climate classifications". World Bank. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ "GIS Assessment of the Status of Protected Areas in East Asia (March, 2005)" (PDF). IUCN - The World Conservation Union. Retrieved November 23, 2019.