Jinggangshan Biosphere Reserve, China

Jinggangshan Nature Reserve was established in 1981 as a provincial nature reserve and was reclassified as a National Nature Reserve in 2000. It was incorporated as a China Biosphere Reserve, and a China National Forestry Demonstration Nature Reserve, and one of the 35 biodiversity conservation priority zones listed in the China National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan. It hosts distinctive biodiverse primary broad leaf forests which support various local development initiatives.

Ecological Characteristics

Jinggangshan Nature Reserve is located at south-west Jiangxi Province. It is the north part of Wanyang Mountain, which is the middle range of the Luoxiao Mountains, the boundary  between Jiangxi and Hunan Province. The reserve has the largest continuous area of primary broad leaf forest ecosystem in the whole sub-tropical zone at latitude 26° N.

With endemic fauna and flora, the broad leaf forests were set as the conservation targets for the nature reserve, which is 29,053 ha large.
Air and water erosion coupled with earth movements created the current geological structure of Jinggangshan. The neocathysian tectonic system processed uplift in Jiuling-Wangyangshan resulting in a topographic pattern of higher altitude in south-west and lower in north and east.  The landscape arose from a succession of shallow drying seas. The landscapes are diverse in geomorphology and topology with typically four landscape types: mountain ridge, river valley, tectonic basin and karst.

Jianggangshan is located in the center of east humid forest in mid-subtropical zone. The vegetation is mid-subtropical humid broad-leaved evergreen forest and divided into sub zones of southern China broad-leaved evergreen forest and Jianggangshan hill land evergreen chinquapin forest, nanmu and gill fungus forest, pine and fire forest. 

Jianggangshan has a large variety of habitats and micro-habitats for its diverse fauna and flora. Studies recorded 3,415 species of advanced plants (with mutant species), including 313 species of ferns. Jianggangshan has richer biodiversity than the other 8 adjacent individual mountains. The fern species are  2.1 times more diverse than in Europe. 

Vertebrate diversity was recorded as 449 species, including 22 species of fish, 38 species of amphibians, 62 species of reptiles and 272 species of birds. Insect species number 3000.

Socio-economic characteristics

The majority of current residents (14,600 habitants) originated from the migration from Shandong Province and Henan Province during Tang and Song dynasty (B.C. 618-1279), most of them, called Tuji (Native) live in the north of Ciping. The second largest settlements, are Keji (Guest) and living in the south of Ciping. 

Multiple projects have been developed to increase the area’s economy and modify the industry structure, such as flower and tree seedling nursery, comprehensive utilization and processing of Moso bamboo, growing medical plants, tea and Camellia oleifera farming and deep processing, undergrowth forestry economy by Sarcandra (Sarcandra Gardn) and Indigo woad Root (Radix Isatidis) planting and pig farm-biogas-orchard agriculture. Tourism  with local communities is encouraged, as well as other activities including restaurants, craftworks and non-wood industries.

 

 

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Last updated: July 2019