“Impacts and Countermeasures of Global Climate Changes on Alpine Areas” Report on Evaluation of Changbai Mountain Reserve I. Present Status of Nature Resources in Changbai Mountain Changbai Mountain Reserve is located in the easternmost of north temperate Eurasia and the southeast of Jilin Province. Neighboring Korea, it is the core area of Changbai Mountain. In the reserve, ecosystem is distributed vertically. Regarded as the most representative typical natural complex in the similar latitudes of the northern part in Eurasia, Changbai Mountain Reserve is also known as the rare “species gene bank” and “natural open museum”. Served as a natural laboratory for the research and study of forest ecology, it is a natural classroom for the propaganda and education of environmental protection. The conservation significance and value of ecosystem have a great impact on the world. Established in 1960, Changbai Mountain Reserve is one of the earliest natural reserves in China. In 1980, it joined “Man and Biosphere” (MAB) Program of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be one of the biosphere reserves in the world. It was approved to be a national natural reserve by the State Council in 1986 and was listed as World Class-A Natural Reserve by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in 1992. In 2000, it was awarded as Grade-AAAA Tourist Resort by National Tourism Administration. In 2003, it was named as “Top Ten Famous Mountains in China”. (I) Status of Biological Resources 1.1 Wild Animal Resources According to the preliminary survey, there are 85 species of rare animals with high economic value, 9 endangered animal species and 58 State-level emphasized protective species. Among them, there are 10 species are under State Class-I protection, including Northeast China tiger, leopard, spotted deer, sable, imperial eagle, Chinese merganser, etc. There are 48 species are under State Class-II protection, including brown bear, black bear, lynx, red deer, fish hawk, goshawk, sparrow hawk, hazel grouse, etc. There are 16 species listed in China Red Data Book, including birch mouse, wolf, brown bear, black bear, otter, lynx, ocelot, leopard, Northeast China tiger, spotted deer, red deer and goral. In the reserve, there are 2 orders 5 families 6 genera, and 9 species of amphibians, 1 order 3 families 8 genera and 12 species of reptiles and 6 orders 12 families 42 genera and 56 species of beasts. The beasts in the reserve account for 70% of the total beasts in Jilin Province. There are 18 orders 50 families 230 species and 10 subspecies of birds, which accounting for 70.6% of the birds in Jilin. 137 species of summer residents, 13 species of winter residents, 32 species traveling birds and another 49 species of resident birds are discovered in Changbai Mountain Reserve. As for fish, there are 5 orders 10 families and 22 genera. There are 1255 species of insects in the reserve, which can be categorized into 20 orders 172 families and 915 genera. There are 976 species have been identified, which can be categorized into 20 orders and 141 families, including 5 orders and 10 endemic plants in Changbai Mountain and 3 orders 8 families 21 species are precious, rare and endangered species. There are 10 orders 37 families and 78 species are newly recorded species in China. 1.2 Wild Plant Resources The reserve has a great variety of plants. There are 2639 species have been identified, which can be categorized into 92 orders 260 families, 877genus, including 4 subspecies, 198 Varieties, 46 forms; There are 755 altered type species have been identified, which can be categorized into 2 subphyla 5 classes 16 orders 52 families 168 genera, among which, there are 340 species of edible fungi, 192 species of medicinal fungi, 102 species of poisonous fungi, 244 species of wood-decaying fungi and 183 species of ectomycorrhiza fungi. As for lichens, it can be divided as 2 orders 22 families 44 genera 265 species 1 altered species and 1 altered type. There are 25 families 42 genera 83 species and 3 altered species of ahepaticae, 37 families 119 genera 257 species 3 sub-species 18 altered species and 5 altered types of music, 23 families 43 genera 78 species 12 altered species and 1 altered type of fern, 3 families 7 genera 11 species and 2 altered species of gymnosperm, 98 families 454 genera 1190 species 1 subspecies 162 altered species and 39 altered types of angiosperm, 738 species of ornamental plants and 56 families 153 genera and 272 species of nectar and pollen plants. There are near 100 potherbs, including about 30 species of wild edible plants and 20 species of wild fruit plants. There are also over 100 species of perfume plants, 70 species of pigment plants, near 100 species of oil plants, over 30 species of scourge plants and over 60 fiber plants. The rich plant resources not only serve as biomass energy but also provide a basis for the research of plant economic value. In the reserve, there are 82 species of rare plants with high economic value, 57 endangered plants species and 9 State -level emphasized protective species. Among them, pinus sylvestriformis and taxus cuspidata are under State Class-I protection, pinus koraiensis, thuja koraiensis, pinus koraiensis, phellodendron amurense, tilia amurensis and fraxinus mandshurica are under State Class-II protection. 1.3 Status of Rare Species 1.3.1 Status of Rare Plants Situated in the core area of Changbai Mountain, the reserve enjoys a unique geographic position. It is adjacent to sea in the east. The highest peak in the northeastern China stands there. With the distinguished climatic condition, the vegetation zones are distributed vertically. It is reputed by international authoritative experts as the best-conserved belt of plant resources in the similar latitudes in the world. During recent years, with the rapid economic development and increasing demands on exploitation and utilization of wild plants resources, the normal successions of wild plant species groups in the reserve have been disturbed greatly. Some species have suffered jeopardy to varied extents. Protected wild plants in Changbai Mountain Reserve are categorized as state-level and Jilin Provincial-level protection. 1.3.1.1 Wild Plants under State Protection Wild plants under state protection refer to the 20 species and 3 altered species of rare, vulnerable and endemic plants in Changbai Mountain Reserve as recorded in China’s Rare and Endangered Plants. Those plants are categorized into 16 families and 22 genera, including 9 species of first-batch wild plants under state protect listed by Forestry Administration. See Table 1 for more information: Table 1 Wild Plants under State Protection in Changbai Mountain Reserve Remaining Protection Habitat and Chinese Name Latin Name Reason for Protection Qty. Level and Sort Distribution [10000] Converge around hot Wenquan Ophioglossum thermale Rare spring and moist warm Rare in quantity <1 Ping’erxiaocao area Scatter in thick humic Dongbei Rare anticancer drug Taxus cuspidata Ⅰ regions in <2 Hongdoushan plant theropencedrymion Endemic species in Changbaisong Pinus sylvestriformis RareⅠ Converge or scatter <11 along Erdaobai River Changbai Mountain or Sandaobai River The main tiber tree in Converge or scatter in Hongsong Pinus koraiensis Ⅱ Northeast. The third theropencedrymion relic plant. EndemicⅡ Converge in the cliffs Chaoxian Yabai Thuja koraiensis of theropencedrymion Rare in quantity <1 and needle forest Converge or scatter in Zuantianliu Chosenia arbutifolia Ⅱ the wet land of river Rare in quantity bank Rare in quantity, arctic Scatter near tundra Salix polyadenia var. plant and grows in Changbailiu Endemic river in high mountains <10 tundra of high tschanbaischanica or west areas mountain Main nectar plants and Ziduan Tilia amurensis Ⅱ Theropencedrymion were key timber trees of Northeast China Some ingredients are Acanthopanax Converge or scatter in Ciwujia Vulnerable nutritive as ginseng, >100 senticosus theropencedrymion edible More microelements Upper margin of than Ginseng. Cishen Oplopanax elatus Rare coniferous forest and Distributed in west and <10 theropencedrymion southwest slopes of Changbai Mountain Traditional rare drug Rare Scatter under plants and reputed as Renshen Panax ginseng <1 theropencedrymion Endangered “king of the grass” The best wild fruit and Shanzha Converge in the margin Malus komarovii Endemic key plasm resources <1 Haitang of theropencedrymion plants Traditional tonification Astragalus Converge or scatter in Huangqi Vulnerable drug plants with great >10 membranaceus the margin of theropencedrymion and market demands slope Converge along the Key plasm resources Yedadou Glycine soja Ⅱ road of forest border or >10 plants meadow of the slope Parasitize in coniferous Similar drug function Caocongrong Boschniakia rossica forest and alder root of with broomrape and <10 Vulnerable Betula ermanii rare in quantity Once was key timber Scatter in the Shuiquliu Fraxinus mandshurica Ⅱ wood and rare in theropencedrymion quantity The bast can be used Phellodendron Scatter in the for drugs. Once was the Huangbo Ⅱ amurense theropencedrymion key timber wood. The tertiary relic plants. Once was the key Scatter in the Hutaoqiu Juglans mandshurica Vulnerable timber tree and was theropencedrymion The tertiary relic plants. Converge in alpine Songmaocui Phyllodoce caerulea Rare Arctic plant tundra Converge in alpine Rhododendron tundra, Betula ermanii Niupi Dujuan Rare Arctic plant chrysanthum forest and coniferous forest Scatter under the Traditional drug plants Pingbeimu Fritillaria ussuriensis Vulnerable theropencedrymion with great demands Rare traditional drug Scatter under the Tianma Gastrodia elata Vulnerable plants with great theropencedrymion demands Empetrum nigrum Converge in alpine Rare and distributed Yangaolan Rare var.japonicum tundra narrowly In Table 1, there are 5 species of rare wild protected plants, 1 altered species, 3 species of endemic species, 1 altered species, 6 vulnerable species and 1 endangered species. There are 2 species and 7 species that listed in the first-batch wild plants under state Class-I protection and Class-II protection, respectively.