Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 12
September 2019 | 11(11): 14391–14401
Introduction
to a four-year biodiversity survey of Tengchong
Section of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, in
the footsteps of pioneering naturalists in western Yunnan, China
Bosco Pui
Lok Chan 1, Zeng Bi 2 & Shao-Zhong Duan 3
1 Kadoorie Conservation China, Kadoorie
Farm & Botanic Garden, Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR, China.
2,3 Yunnan
Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve (Tengchong Bureau), 157 Laifeng
Avenue, Tengchong, Yunnan Province 679100, China.
1 boscokf@kfbg.org
(corresponding author), 2 bhqbz_9@163.com, 3 glgsdsz@163.com
Abstract: The Gaoligongshan Mountains
in Yunnan Province, southwestern China, is one of the biologically richest
areas on Earth. In 2014, we launched a
four-year biodiversity survey in the Tengchong
Section of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve and
its immediate vicinity, aiming to update the current diversity, distribution,
and status of the mammals, birds, herpetofauna, freshwater fishes, and
butterflies on which we have expertise.
Despite the intensity of earlier scientific explorations, our survey
resulted in the discoveries of a new genus, a number of new species, genera and
species new to China, Gaoligongshan, or Tengchong County, and updated the altitude limits for some
species. Species richness of mammalian
and avian fauna, the two groups most susceptible to habitat loss and hunting,
remains remarkably high, but past impacts of hunting and habitat degradation
were in evidence. Our results clearly
illustrate the immense conservation value of this mountain range and the
necessity for more in-depth, focused biodiversity field surveys. This monograph summarizes our findings, and
this chapter gives an overview of the geography, climate, vegetation, and
ecology of Tengchong, a history of earlier and
present biodiversity explorations, and conservation recommendations based on
our findings.
Keywords: Birds, biodiversity, conservation recommendations, eastern
Himalaya, mammals, new records, new species, southwestern China.
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4438.11.11.14391-14401
Editor: Mewa Singh, University of Mysore, Mysuru, India. Date
of publication: 12 September 2019 (online & print)
Manuscript details: #4438 | Received 27 July 2018 |
Final received 07 March 2019 | Finally accepted 30 July 2019
Citation: Chan, B.P.L., Z. Bi & S-Z. Duan (2019). Introduction to a four-year biodiversity survey of Tengchong Section of Gaoligongshan
National Nature Reserve, in the footsteps of pioneering naturalists in western
Yunnan, China. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(11): 14391–14401. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4438.11.11.14391-14401
Copyright: © Chan et al. 2019. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by adequate credit to the author(s)
and the source of publication.
Funding: This study is
funded by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing
interests.
Author details: Bosco Pui Lok Chan: Head of Kadoorie
Conservation China Department at Kadoorie Farm and
Botanic Garden. Zheng Bi: Director of Gaoligongshan
National Nature Reserve (Tengchong Bureau). Shao-Zhong
Duan: Deputy Director of Gaoligongshan
National Nature Reserve (Tengchong Bureau).
Author contribution: BPLC wrote the paper, ZB and S-ZD contributed data.
Acknowledgements:
The authors wish to thank the
Provincial Forestry Department of Yunnan Province and the Baoshan
Administrative Bureau of Yunnan Gaoligongshan
National Nature Reserve for their support in our work. We thank all participants of this four-year
biodiversity survey, and colleagues and friends who provided logistics
support. Experts including Jack Tordoff,
John MacKinnon, Will Duckworth, Yang Liu, Yu-Feng Hsu, Ding-Qi Rao, Yat-Tung Yu, Ying-Yong Wang, and Richard Lewthwaite either
took part in our field surveys or kindly provided valuable comments in species
identification.
INTRODUCTION
The Gaoligongshan Mountains
(hereafter GLGS) is a long, narrow mountain chain in the western part of
China’s Yunnan Province adjoining northern Myanmar. Due to its complex geography and biotic
assemblage, scientists of different disciplines define the exact boundary of
GLGS somewhat differently. Nonetheless,
it is generally agreed upon that the main range of GLGS is the western edge of
the Hengduan Mountains, spanning from the Tibetan
Plateau to Myanmar, measuring some 600km over 5° in latitude. It has an altitude range from 210m to over
5,000m and it covers an area of over 111,000km2. The rugged, contiguous ridge divides the
Irrawaddy (Ayayerwaddy) and Salween (the Chinese
section is called Nujiang) basins, and these rivers
cut gorges over 2,000m deep parallel to the mountain range. The topography and geography of this mountain
range were described in detail by Chaplin (2005), who considered it to be “one
of the world’s most significant biodiversity hotspots outside of the tropics”
and analyzed its geography in relation to its rich
and unique biodiversity.
The unique geographic location and tectonic history of
GLGS, along with its extreme topographic relief and complexity in geology,
landforms, hydrology, and climate, have produced many diverse habitat types
that support biotic components from the Himalaya, the mountains of southwestern
China, and the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot.
This makes GLGS one of the biologically richest places on earth (Li et
al. 1999; Hoffmann 2001; Mittermeier et al. 2011; Lei et al. 2015; Liu et al.
2016) and a treasure trove for new discoveries (e.g., Ma et al. 2013; Fritsch
et al. 2015; Yang et al. 2016a; Zhu et al. 2016; Chen et al. 2017; Fan et al.
2017). Since the 19th
Century, GLGS has been a magnet for naturalists and scientists from China and
abroad (e.g., Anderson 1876; Rothschild 1923; Allen 1938; Tang 1996; Stotz et al. 2003; Long 2008; Liang et al. 2015).
To safeguard these exceptional biodiversity assets,
the Chinese government began to protect parts of GLGS as early as 1962, and the
Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve (hereafter GLGSNNR),
created in 1986, is the largest protected area in Yunnan. GLGSNNR has an area of 4,052km2
and is geographically separated into three sections straddling over 3° in
latitude (24.933–28.367 0N): the northern Gongshan
Section managed by Nujiang Prefecture (2,428km2,
27.517–28.367 0N), the middle Fugong
Section managed by Nujiang Prefecture (379km2,
25.183–26.250 0N), and the southern section jointly managed by Lushui of Nujiang Prefecture and Baoshan Municipal City (1,245km2, 24.933–26.150 0N). GLGSNNR is divided into two administrative
bureaus (Nujiang and Baoshan)
and the management of the Baoshan Section is shared
by two management centres—the eastern Salween slope as Longyang
District managed by the Baoshan Administrative Bureau
and the western Irrawaddy slope managed by the Tengchong
Management Bureau (hereafter TC-GLGS) (Fig. 1).
GLGSNNR has some of the largest and most intact tracts
of natural forests in southeastern Asia, with
impressive lists of animal and plant groups including numerous endemic and
relic species (Stotz et al. 2003; Xiong
& Ai 2006; Dumbacher et al. 2011; Long et al.
2012). Studies show that it supports
China’s largest population of the Gaoligong Hoolock
Gibbon Hoolock tianxing (Chan et al. 2017) and
contains a large part of the world population of the Black Snub-nosed Monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri
(Ma et al. 2014). Scientists have
estimated GLGSNNR to harbour more than 5,000 vascular plants and over 600 bird
species (Stotz et al. 2003). Its immense conservation value is widely
recognized, having been listed as a UNESCO biosphere reserve (UNESCO 2017), a
UNESCO world heritage site under the “Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected
Areas” (UNESCO 2003), and an IUCN key biodiversity area under
“Gaoligongshan-CN244” (BirdLife International 2018).
In 2014, we launched a four-year systematic faunal
survey in TC-GLGS and its immediate environs, focused on vertebrates and
butterflies on which we have expertise.
Detailed survey methodology and results of the studied taxon groups are
provided in various articles of this monograph (Li et al. 2019; Lo & Bi
2019; Yang et al. 2019; Zheng et al. 2019). The present paper aims to provide
background information on the geography, climate, vegetation, and ecology of Tengchong, as well as a brief summary of earlier and
current biodiversity explorations in the area.
Future directions for conservation management are also provided based on
our findings.
Geography of Tengchong
and Glgsnnr
Tengchong County is managed under Baoshan
Municipal City, with a land area of 5,845km2 and a human population
of over 680,000, sharing ca. 150km of the international border with Kachin
State of northern Myanmar. The area was
variously known as Tengyue, Tingyueh,
Teng Yueh, Momein, and Momien
in English-language literature of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. The topography of Tengchong is of a horseshoe-shape, being surrounded by a
series of fringing high mountains on all sides with the opening facing
south. The lowest point is Xinhua
Township at 930m, climbing northwards to an elevation of 1,650m at Tengchong Town. The
main spine of GLGS is merely 20km to the east of Tengchong
Town, rising abruptly to an average altitude of 3,000m, reaching its highest
point at Mt. Danaozi (3,780m) in northern Tengchong. Numerous
steep hill streams originating from TC-GLGS feed the two major tributaries of
the Irrawaddy in China—the Longchuan River flows
along the foothills of GLGS and exits China as Shweili
River in Myanmar, while the Binglang River draining
the mountains of northwestern Tengchong
is the main source of the Daying (Taiping) River
which flows towards Myanmar’s Bhamo. Tengchong County
has a forest cover of 73%; the major settlements and farmlands are scattered
along the alluvial plains.
The whole western slope of southern GLGS has been
included in TC-GLGS. The reserve covers
an area of 424.18km2 between 24.933 0N and 25.833 0N,
with an altitude range of 1,900–3,780 m.
TC-GLGS has a 90% forest cover which is managed by six management
sections, each with its own management station, substations, and ranger
teams. An eco-corridor measuring 2,600ha
(24.817–24.933 0N) has been established at the southern tip of
TC-GLGS to connect the reserve with Xiaoheishan
Provincial Nature Reserve, providing additional lower-elevation habitats (Fig.
2).
Climate of Tengchong
The major influence on the climate of Tengchong is the annual monsoon cycle. From May to October, the deep river valleys
of the Irrawaddy funnel southwestern monsoon rains from the Indian Ocean
through the lowland tropics to GLGS.
This is the wettest and warmest period of the year, accounting for ca.
87% of the annual rainfall with the temperature approaching 30°C under the
sun. The weather is the driest and
coldest from November to April, with occasional frost in the valleys while snow
covers the higher grounds above 3,000m (Image 1). In Tengchong Town
at 1,650m, the annual mean temperature is 15.4oC and the annual
rainfall is ca. 1,500mm with annual humidity of 77%. Because of the rapid changes along the
altitude gradient, distinct climatic zones can be found within a few
kilometres: subtropical zone occurs below ca. 2,000m, temperate zone from
2,000m to 3,000m, and subalpine zone above 3,000m. The high, contiguous range of GLGS creates
pronounced rain shadow effect; being on the windward side of GLGS, Tengchong receives higher rainfall compared to the eastern
slope (Chettri et al. 2010; Liu 2014).
Vegetation of Tengchong
Tengchong has long been a major trading hub in southwestern
China and was used by Chinese and foreign merchants as a major stopover along
the ancient Southwest Silk Road, which linked central China to the Middle East
dating back 2,000 years. Three major trails
were used by caravan fleets to traverse the main range, and caravansaries were
built on mountain passes for these arduous expeditions. One such ancient caravanserai sitting by a
saddle at 3,160m (25.283 0N & 98.733 0E), called
“South Alms Inn” (‘Nanzhaigongfang’ in Chinese), is
particularly well-preserved and continues to be used by visiting researchers
and eco-tourists for overnight stays (Image 2).
Tengchong was a major battlefield during the
Japanese invasion in World War II; many trenches and pillboxes were constructed
on the mountains and some are still visible today. These historical events imply that the
vegetation of TC-GLGS cannot be considered pristine and that the primary
vegetation for much of the alluvial plains and low hills have been destroyed. Despite the sustained human footprints, the
rugged and largely inaccessible slopes above 2,000m are covered in vast
expanses of intact broadleaf forests up to the timberline.
Because of the complex local geomorphology, the
north-south orientation of the ridge, and the huge vertical differences in
topography, vertical vegetation zonation is well developed in TC-GLGS; humid
subtropical forest quickly turns to moist temperate forest and then to
subalpine thickets within a few kilometres along the elevation gradient, with
two major altitude transitions at 1,800–2,000 m and near 2,800m, respectively (Xue et al. 1995; Stotz et al.
2003) (Fig. 3). The flora and vegetation
of TC-GLGS are relatively well-studied; a general description can be found in Wen
et al. (2003) while more detailed botanical accounts can be found in Xue et al. (1995), Li et al. (2000), Xiong
& Ai (2006), and Liu (2014).
According to Xue et al.
(1995), there are four major altitude vegetation types in TC-GLGS. These are:
Monsoon moist evergreen broadleaf forest (Image 3a)
dominated by Castanopsis hystrix and Lindera
communis.
This forest type is distributed below 2,000m where human activities have
destroyed much of the original vegetation; only remnant patches or secondary
regrowth can be found. Average canopy
height is currently under 20m.
Mid-montane moist evergreen broadleaf forest (Image
3b) dominated by the families Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Theaceae, Ericaceae, and Magnoliaceae
between 1,800m and 2,800m. TC-GLGS
supports extensive tracts of old-growth forest of this vegetation type. The forest has an average canopy height of
over 30m and is particularly rich in epiphytes such as mosses, ferns, orchids,
and Araceae.
Subalpine hemlock-rhododendron mixed forest (Image 3c)
dominated by various oaks and rhododendron species, with scattered coniferous
species such as Tsuga dumosa and Juniperus pingii. This
forest type can be found at elevations between 2,700m and 3,200m; in areas with
harsh conditions,
pure stands of conifers can be found.
Average canopy height is 25m, and trees are cloaked with mosses, lichens
(e.g., Usnea longissima), and
epiphytic rhododendrons (e.g., Rhododendron sulfureum).
Subalpine bamboo-rhododendron thickets (Image 3d) are found
above 2,700m. The dominant bamboo
species are of the genus Fargesia, especially F.
orbiculata, with clumps of dwarf rhododendrons
(e.g., R. sinogrande) and upland herbs.
According to vegetation classification, there is also
a latitude transition zone at 25°30′N at the Jietou
Section (Xue et al. 1995). The difference in vegetation may have
implications on distribution limits for the less mobile taxa, particularly
herpetofauna.
ECOLOGY OF TENGCHONG
Major Wildlife Habitats
Old-growth forest (Image 4a): The majority of TC-GLGS is under contiguous cover of
old-growth forest, except at the highest ridges above the timberline. As the lower limit of the reserve boundary is
at 1,900m, mid-montane moist evergreen broadleaf forest is the reserve’s
dominant forest type. It supports the
highest concentration of biodiversity in TC-GLGS, including flagship species
such as the Gaoligong Hoolock Gibbon and the Marbled
Cat Pardofelis marmorata, as well as
restricted-range endemics such as the newly discovered amphibian Leptobrachium tengchongense,
and is therefore of the greatest conservation significance. On the upper slopes, some pure stands of the
handsome subalpine hemlock Tsuga dumosa and juniper Juniperus
pingii can
be found. Fragments of old-growth
monsoon moist evergreen broadleaf forest below 2,000m are confined to
inaccessible gullies and around temples, but these remnants are probably too
small to support wildlife of particular conservation interest.
Secondary forest (Image 4b): Nearly all the original forests below the 2,000m lower
boundary of TC-GLGS have been lost. The
original vegetation type dominating this elevation band is monsoon moist
evergreen broadleaf forest, but local residents have long cleared the forest
for farming, timber plantations, and pasture.
With the recent enactment of pro-conservation national policies, many
hillsides are allowed to regenerate and secondary forests now cover much of
these hillsides despite continued human disturbances. These secondary forests are of conservation
value as globally threatened species such as the Red Panda Ailurus fulgens and Mrs
Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae have been recorded in it. The lower-elevation forest (below ca. 1,500m)
supports a distinct biotic community, with elements of the Oriental
biogeographic realm not found at higher mountains, such as King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah,
Ashy Bulbul Hemixos flavala,
and Blue-throated Barbet Psilopogon asiaticus. Major
secondary forest blocks include the Longchuan River
protected riparian forest (303ha, 25.050–25117 0N &
98.650–98.667 0E, elevations from 1,300–1,680 m) and Fanshanchu State-owned forest (153ha, 25.683–25.717 0N
& 98.617–98.667 0E, elevations from 2,000–2,800 m), both of
which fall under the jurisdiction of TC-GLGS.
Plantation forest (Image 4c): One of the major incomes of Tengchong
farmers comes from household timber plantations, and many rolling hills near
settlements are covered in plantation forests.
In contrast to other regions of China, native timber species are used in
Tengchong, such as cedars Alnus
nepalansis and Taiwania
cryptomerioides and birch Betula alnoides.
Although these monoculture plantations support far lower biodiversity
compared to natural forests, these native species plantations appear to be less
hostile to local wildlife; adaptable forest species such as squirrels Callosciurus erythraeus
and Dremomys pernyi,
galliformes such as Silver Pheasant Lophura nycthemera
and Mountain Bamboo Partridge Bambusicola fytchii, and woodpeckers such as Great-spotted
Woodpecker Dendrocopos major are able
to survive in less-disturbed patches. An
interesting example is the Laifengshan National
Forest Park in Tengchong Town, where mature stands of
native cedar Alnus nepalansis
and birch Betula alnoides planted after World
War II are attracting bird species typical of old-growth broadleaf forest found
in similar elevation bands; epiphytic orchids such as Phalaenopsis
sp. and Dendrobium spp. have also colonized the older trees.
Natural freshwater wetlands (Image
4d): The most extensive and most
important lentic wetland lies in the Beihai Marsh Nature Reserve (16.29km2,
1,725m, 25.100–25.133 0N & 98.500–98.583 0E), which
is a barrier lake from historical volcanic activities. Water depth of the lake varies from 2–13 m;
together with the fringing marsh, it supports a rich macrophyte community with
130 species recorded growing on the floating mats that feed wintering ducks and
the Common Crane Grus grus, as well as a
healthy resident population of the Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio. Other wetland-dependent vertebrates have not
been properly surveyed, but are expected to be impoverished due to the high
human population around the lake. The Longchuan and Binglang rivers
provide ample lotic wetland habitats along their courses. Many agricultural and hydropower dams,
however, have been and are being built, and sand-mining pits are common near
towns, destroying shingle bank and other shallow-water habitats. Wintering Black Stork Ciconia
nigra, Ibisbill Ibidorhyncha struthersii,
River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii,
and wild ducks occur in river sections with less human disturbances. The Eurasian Otter Lutra
lutra was once widely distributed in the rivers
of Tengchong but has not been recorded in recent
decades.
Man-made habitats: Some wildlife thrives in man-made habitats. Egrets, herons, grebes, and cormorants feed
and breed in the vicinity of reservoirs and ponds where they are not
harassed. Interestingly, one of the most
bird-rich reservoirs is in Tengchong Town, with a
sizeable resident population of herons, egrets, and wintering ducks and gulls,
indicating that human disturbances may be the reason behind the lack of waterbirds in other similar habitats. Shallow-shored reservoirs and flooded and
abandoned farmlands offer marshy habitats for waterbirds
and commensal herpetofauna, and the forest-dependent Yunnan Newt Tylototriton shanjing
can be found in such wetlands close to natural forests. The Black-tailed Crake Porzana
bicolor marginally occurs in southwestern China,
and our Tengchong records came from marshy abandoned
fields close to human habitations. Squirrels Callosciurus
erythraeus and Dremomys
pernyi and the Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
are the more notable wildlife around village groves, tea terraces, and
orchards.
BRIEF HISTORY OF EARLIER BIODIVERSITY
Explorations in Tengchong
Tengchong has a long history of biodiversity exploration and
research. The first modern-day
scientific account on Tengchong biodiversity was
written by British explorer and zoologist John Anderson, who made two
expeditions to western Yunnan in 1868 and 1875, respectively. Although he only ventured as far as the
surroundings of present-day Tengchong Town, his
pioneering work is invaluable for our understanding of biodiversity of this
remote region, including species described with Tengchong
specimens (Anderson 1871, 1876, 1878).
Following Anderson’s footsteps, other western naturalists and explorers
visited western Yunnan on collecting expeditions; Xiong
& Ai (2006) and Boufford (2014) gave brief
overviews of these early explorers.
Among them, the most notable is George Forrest, who made seven
collecting expeditions during his extended stay in Tengchong
between 1904 and 1932; his most famous Tengchong
discovery is the largest rhododendron in the world, the Big Tree Rhododendron Rhododendron protistum
var. giganteum, with major distribution in
northern Tengchong (Maspero
2004). Several early western naturalists
also made extensive zoological collections in or near Tengchong;
details on the mammalian explorations from the 19th and early 20th
centuries have been summarized by Allen (1938, 1940) and those on avifauna by Dumbacher et al. (2011).
Chinese scientists started exploring GLGS as early as
the 1930s and the Chinese Academy of Sciences organized several major
multidisciplinary expeditions to the region starting from the 1950s. Their works were published in numerous
papers, monographs, and taxon-specific volumes, providing detailed
documentation on the biodiversity of the region (Peng et al. 1980; Xue et al. 1995; Yang et al. 1995; Tang 1996; Yang &
Yang 2004). Scientific research and
surveys continue to be conducted by Chinese scientists in GLGS including Tengchong, further advancing our understanding of the biodiversity
value of the area (Xiong & Ai 2006; Liu 2014).
The Current Biodiversity Survey
Although Tengchong has been
the subject of intense and extended scientific interest, major biodiversity
surveys were conducted over a decade ago, and a comprehensive assessment on the
current diversity, distribution, and status of major wildlife groups is
lacking. A common issue with many
existing regional and site species checklists is that all historical records
are included during compilation, irrespective of the current status of these
species. Although this practice of data
culmination results in impressive long checklists for a study area and can be
useful for some research purposes, it can be counter-productive because the
ever-growing lists mask the temporal and spatial changes in distribution and
abundance for many species, which would have allowed scientists, reserve
managers, and policy-makers to evaluate efficacy in protection effort and to
formulate appropriate conservation actions.
It was with this in mind that we launched our survey
on mammals, birds, herpetofauna, freshwater fishes, and butterflies. The benchmark data we collected is important
to assist GLGSNNR in making informed management decisions. From the beginning of April 2014, our team
conducted repeated surveys in TC-GLGS and, to obtain a more comprehensive
picture of wildlife communities in Tengchong, some
efforts were made to cover habitat types, as such low-elevation forests,
wetlands and farmlands, outside the reserve.
These sites include the Laifengshan National
Forest Park, Beihai Wetland, and Heshun Wetland near Tengchong Town, Fanshanchu
State-owned forest and Longchuan River protected
riparian forest, and better-quality riparian habitats along the Longchuan and Binglang rivers
(see Fig. 2). A combination of survey
methods, including camera trapping, non-random transects, point counts, active
searching, incidental observations, and spotlighting were deployed and are
described in the respective articles of this monograph. Our systematic fieldwork cut-off point was
November 2018 and significant incidental records were up to January 2019. We covered the full seasonal cycle and
altitude range from 1,100m at Binglang River to the
summit of Mt. Danaozi at 3,780m. A total of 682.5 man-days (172 for mammals,
334 for birds, 121 for herpetofauna, and 57.5 for butterflies, respectively)
were spent conducting fieldwork, excluding incidental observation. Survey on freshwater fishes was not
representative for various reasons and has been omitted from this
monograph. Readers interested in the
ichthyofauna of Tengchong should consult Chen (2013)
and Yang et al. (2016b); and Chan & Bi (2016) illustrated some common
species found in the headwaters of TC-GLGS.
DISCUSSION
In summary, it is clear that GLGS harbours enormous
biodiversity and is one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots; Tengchong is an integral part of this unique
ecosystem. Our survey results indicate
that the ecosystems of TC-GLGS are largely intact and maintain much of the
biological assets. Vertebrate groups are
the best-documented wildlife groups in TC-GLGS and are featured in all previous
biodiversity inventories. We nonetheless
discovered a number of new species, as well as genera and species new to China,
to GLGS, and to Tengchong. Species richness of many studied groups
remains high; for example, an impressive 46 species of non-volant mammals and
393 bird species were recorded; details are reported in the respective articles
of this monograph. Our results may actually
underestimate the true biodiversity of Tengchong, as
area coverage in our survey effort was biased towards the 2,000–2,600 m
elevation band where access was less challenging, and we fully expect
additional species to be found in future surveys. Our study clearly demonstrates the
fundamental role and irreplaceable importance of repeated, sustained, and
focused field surveys, which seems to have been relegated to second place in
conservation biology (Ríos-Saldana et al. 2018).
To safeguard the future of this remarkable
biodiversity, it is important to conduct regular monitoring on selected key
species, such as those with low population size (e.g., the Gaoligong
Hoolock Gibbon and the Sclater’s Monal
Lophophorus sclateri)
and those most susceptible to poaching (e.g., the Forest Musk Deer Moschus berezovskii)
and climate change (e.g., the Fire-tailed Myzornis Myzornis pyrrhoura),
so that GLGSNNR can make the best management decisions. The conservation and restoration of
unprotected low-elevation forests and to enhance their connectivity with
TC-GLGS appear to be the most pressing conservation challenges for GLGNNR,
because a distinctive biotic community is restricted to below 2,000m, as
demonstrated and emphasized by many researchers and conservation biologists
(Lan & Dunbar 2000; Stotz et al. 2003; Wang et
al. 2004; Wu et al. 2013; Wu et al. 2014; Zhang et al. 2015). Mammals, in general, are most susceptible to
hunting; it is noteworthy that species richness for most mammal groups in
TC-GLGS is comparable to other significant protected areas in the eastern
Himalaya. The alarmingly low density of
ungulates and the (near-)extirpation of large carnivores, however, are of great
concern. Ungulates are the main prey
base for large carnivores, and healthy populations of ungulate species are
critical for the survival of top predators (Tan et al. 2018). Although rampant hunting is a thing of the
past in Tengchong, every effort should be made to
ensure poaching is halted for the recovery of ungulate populations, and
eventually that of the large carnivores.
Tengchong is contiguous with vast expanses of forests along the
eastern Himalaya mountains, connecting to Hkakaborazi
National Park in northern Myanmar all the way to Namdapha
National Park of India and beyond, making it amongst the largest forest
landscapes in Asia with extraordinary altitude and habitat heterogeneity; the
conservation value of Tengchong cannot be overstated.
For
figures & images – click here
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Anderson, J. (1871). On eight new species of birds from western Yunnan,
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