Reference List

1. "Hengduan Mountains, China : Image of the Day." NASA Earth Observatory : Home. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8098>.
2. "Biodiversity Hotspots - China - Overview." Biodiversity Hotspots - Home. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/china/Pages/default.aspx>.
3. "Baimaxueshan National Park-China Adventure Travel Service." China Tours - China Exploration, Adventure and Travel Service. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.chinaexploration.com/NatureReserve/Baimaxueshan-National-Park.html>.
4. "WWF - Giant Panda - Overview." Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/giantpanda/panda.html>.
5. "Deforestation and Desiccation in China." University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.library.utoronto.ca/pcs/state/chinaeco/forest.htm>.
6. Google Images. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://images.google.com/>.
7. "Plants and Fungi of South-central China — Biodiversity of the Hengduan Mountains."Biodiversity of the Hengduan Mountains Web Server 2. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://hengduan.huh.harvard.edu/fieldnotes>.

Data

Pre-Historic China 

Province	Land suitable for forestry (1,000 ha)	Actually Forested Areas (1,000 ha)
Sichuan	19,031	32,050
Yunnan	26,124	33,062

1948

Province	Land suitable for forestry (1,000 ha)	Actually Forested Areas (1,000 ha)
Sichuan	6,055	8,289
Yunnan	10,762	9,167

"Deforestation and Desiccation in China." University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.library.utoronto.ca/pcs/state/chinaeco/forest.htm>.

Panda Population

Future Prospects and What Should We Do

The Sichuan Province is part of the Hengduan Mountains. It is also a major source of timber. Based on statistics in 1948, the forested areas in Sichuan has decreased from 32,050,000 ha (pre-historic China) to 8,289,000 ha. (1948). If the forested area keeps decreasing, the natural habitat would be in great danger and endemic species like giant panda, about only two thousands of which exist in the wild today, might become extinct. Other than wood cutting, dam is also a problem to the ecosystem. And since China is still a developing country, more dams will probably be built and they will cause even more damage to the Hengduan Mountains.

Just recently, Baimaxueshan Mountains National Park was established to conserve parts of the Hengduan Mountains. Within the park the amount of timber exploit is limited to the replacement level, so the forested area will stop decreasing. In other areas of Hengduan Mountains, however, the situation is not so fortunate because there are currently no laws limiting timber exploit. The best way to conserve forests is probably introducing healthier logging methods like commercial agriculture (monoculture) instead of subsistance agriculture or clear-cutting. Introducing timber bans in areas with endangered species until the population is back on track can also be a great alternative.

Human Impact

For the past decades, Hengduan mountains has suffered greatly from human activities. Timber exploit, for example, reduced the forest size to about one-sixth of what it originally was. This great forest size reduction affects the natural habitat of animals and plants, and may cause some of these species to become endangered. Another human impact is hydroelectricity. Over seventy percent of renewable resource in China is hydroelectricity. Although the energy is renewable, the cost of building dam is the landscape; These dams not only affect the areas they are located, but can also affect other regions through run-off, gas emissions, and pollution, too.

Historical state

The Hengduan Mountains is a biodiversity hot spot. It was home to 12,000 flowering species with 3,500 of those that are endemic. The mountains are also home to other endangered animals such as the red panda, golden monkey, and the giant panda. These animals live in the forests. The giant panda, for example, is a herbivore that climbs on trees and eats mainly bamboo. The weather varies from place to place because of the elevation. The mountains have climates that resemble that of tundra, boreal forest, and temperate forest.

Hengduan Mountains PRESENT

Google Images. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://images.google.com/>.

Hengduan Mountains PAST

Google Images. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://images.google.com/>.