Title: Conservation and the complexity of temperate grasslands: A view from Ugtam Uul Nature Reserve, Mongolia. Author: Dr. William Wilson, Department of Geography, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario. P7B 5E1 Abstract: Temperate grasslands are amongst the most threatened landscapes in the world today. In part, this situation has been created, and is sustained, due to a perception that these grasslands are ecologically simple, i.e., that a true grassland is a monotonous landscape of climax vegetation and few fauna. Further, we assume that we understand how these landscapes function. This article presents data on a temperate grassland protected area in Mongolia, Ugtam Uul Nature Reserve, in order to demonstrate first, that temperate grasslands are actually quite complex and second, that much more research needs to be done on the few remaining extant temperate grasslands if we are to hope for successful grassland conservation. It is argued that ecologically and socially intact temperate grasslands are vibrant landscapes that contain springs, stream, lakes, wetlands, forest patches, drylands, and cliffs, as well as innumerable different grassland landscape communities. Data is produced to show how Ugtam Uul Nature Reserve, located on the Daurian Steppe of eastern Mongolia, is an example of such a complex grassland. The article concludes with some suggestions for projects to further the conservation of temperate grasslands in Asia and North and South America. Index Terms: temperate grasslands, Mongolia, wolves, Inner Asia, nomads 1 Introduction: The link between perceptions of particular landscapes and the actual state of conservation of those landscapes has been well established in the literature (e.g., Adams and McShane 1992 and Hummel (ed.) 1989, 1995). The implications of a negative perception towards a landscape are evident in the state of conservation of temperate grasslands around the world. The lack of articles and books on temperate grasslands would indicate that conservationists often see these landscapes as monotonous and even boring, especially when compared to perceptually dynamic mountains or tropical rainforests. Thankfully, what little work that has been done on temperate grasslands is often excellent, e.g. Olsen (ed.) (1990), Samson and Knopf (eds.) (1997), Licht (1997). Nevertheless, one recent study (Henwood (ed) 1998) found that these grasslands are the most threatened major terrestrial landscape. In fact, no pre-Industrial temperate grassland landscape continues to exist in the Americas, and only a very few remain in Eurasia. The closest simulacrum in North America is Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, where the visitor can see some native grassland flora and fauna, although no large predators. In the days of scarce conservation funding, how can battered prairie compete for funds with luxurious Pacific rainforest; what responsible supervisor would condemn the career of a graduate student by suggesting the s/he study the possibilities for the restoration of temperate grasslands when they can study charismatic caribou or grizzly bears? The purpose of this article is to advocate grassland conservation through the construction of an understanding that these landscapes are as dynamic and ecologically 2 important as other landscapes. It is intended that this alternative image will give more impetus to new scientific studies of temperate grasslands and to new conservation and restoration efforts. The article is constructed around an examination of one particular grassland protected area, Ugtam Uul Nature Reserve, found on one of the few remaining ecologically extant temperate grasslands, the Daurian Steppe of Mongolia. The article begins with an introduction to the study area and a brief discussion of the methods used to collect the data presented in the following pages. A discussion of what these data reveal about the dynamic nature of the Ugtam grasslands is then presented. The article concludes with some thoughts on priorities for grassland conservation. Ugtam Uul Nature Reserve The 462 km2 Ugtam Uul Nature Reserve was created in 1993 to protect the local monastery (established, 1830’s: destroyed, 1934: re-established, 1991), its sacred mountain (or uul), and over 110 Bronze Age graves. The Reserve is located at approximately 49°19'33N - 113°45'11E, in the Daurian Steppe of eastern Mongolia and lies on the Uldz River, a small underfit steppe river (Map 1). The Reserve lies approximately 50 km from the Khentii Mountains to the west, and roughly 70 km from the Yablonovyy Mountains to the north. These separation zones are grass-covered hills with moderate relief (100 -200m) and occasional outcrops of sedimentary rock. To the south and east, the hills give way to flat steppe. The average yearly high in northeastern Mongolia is 7.6 degrees C, the average yearly low –5.3 C, and the average yearly temperature 0.6 C (Government of Mongolia 1990). Summer temperatures reach the mid-40’s C while winter temperatures fall to the 3 –40’s C. Average yearly precipitation is 247.7 mm, with large inter- and intra-year variability (Humphrey and Sneath 1999). Most moisture falls in the late summer as severe thunderstorms. Winters are dry with strong winds. Spring is the driest season of the year. The Ugtam massif, with its numerous summits, appears to be a pluton of indeterminate size, which has penetrated through the layers of sedimentary Cretaceous rock. The maximum elevation of the massif is 1240m. The minimum elevation in the Reserve is 800m. The pluton creates one, or several, perched water tables that feed the seven perennial springs that form the streams that flow off the mountain in sheltered valleys. Neither the springs nor the streams freeze during the winter. The soils around Ugtam are predominantly chestnuts and light chernozems resting on massive, unsorted deposits of sand of unknown thickness. Soils are much better developed in Ugtam stream valleys due to increased moisture, more organic material from trees, and much greater bioturbation. Buried soil horizons in these valleys suggest frequent seismic activity. Discontinuous permafrost is found throughout the Reserve, particularly in north-facing valley bottoms. Flora and Fauna One hundred and forty-four plant species have been identified, thus far, in the Reserve. A remaining 19 plants have been identified to the family level. The Reserve contains at least 43 families of plants. However, more species remain to be found in the Reserve, as the birch (Betula platyphylla) forest across the summit has been poorly sampled. 4 Thirty-one species of mammals were recorded at or around Ugtam Uul in 1999 - 2000, eighteen of which are considered threatened by the IUCN, CITES, and/or the Government of Mongolia (Ministry of Nature and the Environment, Government of Mongolia 1997; Baillie and Groombridge (compilers and editors) 1996; Hilton-Taylor (Compiler) 2000). Table One: Threatened Mammal and Bird Species of Ugtam Uul Nature Reserve Species English Common Name Rhinolophus ferrumequinum Schreber, 1774 Greater Horseshoe bat Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus 1758 Red squirrel Marmota bobak sibirica Radde 1862 Siberian marmot Ptermys volans Linnaeus 1758 Russian flying squirrel Myopus schisticolor Lilljeborg 1844 Wood lemming Lagurus luteus Eversmann 1840 Yellow steppe lemming Micromys minutus Pallas 1771 Harvest mouse Dryomys nitedula Pallas 1779 Forest dormouse Sicista betulina Pallas, 1779 Northern birch mouse Sicista subtilis Pallas 1773 Southern birch mouse Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758 Wolf Vulpes corsac Linnaeus 1768 Corsac fox Ursus arctos Linnaeus 1758 Brown bear Mustela eversmanni Lesson 1827 Steppe polecat 5 Gulo gulo Linnaeus 1758 Wolverine Otocolobus manul Pallas 1776 (Felis manul) Pallas's cat Lynx lynx Linnaeus 1758 (Felis lynx) Eurasian Lynx Procapra gutturosa Pallas 1777 Dzeren, Mongolian gazelle Ciconia nigra Linnaeus 1758 Black Stork Cygnus cygnus Linnaeus 1758 Whooper Swan Anser cygnoides Linnaeus 1758 Swan Goose Haliaeetus albicilla Linnaeus 1758 White-tailed Eagle Circus aeruginosus Linnaeus 1758 Marsh Harrier Circus cyaneus Linnaeus 1766 Hen Harrier Circus macrourus Gmelin 1770 Pallid Harrier Circus melanoleucos Pennant 1769 Pied Harrier Aquila clanga Pallas 1811 Spotted Eagle Aquila nipalensis Hodgson 1833 Steppe Eagle Aquila heliaca Savigny 1809 Imperial Eagle Aquila chrysaetos Linnaeus 1758 Golden Eagle Falco naumanni Fleischer 1818 Lesser Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus 1758 Common Kestrel Falco subbuteo Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian Hobby Falco cherrug Gray 1834 Saker Falcon Falco peregrinus Tunstall 1771 Peregrine Falcon Grus grus Linnaeus 1758 Common Crane 6 Grus monacha Temminck 1835 Hooded Crane Grus vipio Pallas 1811 White-napped Crane Anthropoides virgo Linnaeus 1758 Demoiselle Crane Otis tarda Linnaeus 1758 Great Bustard One hundred and thirty-one species of birds were identified at Ugtam Uul Nature Reserve in 1999. A UNDP fieldtrip to Ugtam in the early Fall of 2000 yielded a further 15 species of birds. This addition of slightly more than 10% of the original 131 species over only a few days of observation at new locations in the Reserve suggests that the avifauna of Ugtam Uul has not yet been fully censused (Hunter 1996; Shafer 1990). Even so, existing data indicate that Ugtam contains 32% of all birds found in Mongolia. Further, 22 (15%) of these bird species are threatened (Ministry of Nature and the Environment, Government of Mongolia 1997; Baillie and Groombridge (compilers and editors) 1996; Hilton-Taylor (Compiler) 2000). A full