Taxkorgan Reserve

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Taxkorgan Reserve lies to the west of China in the Pamir - Karakorum -region in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang . It was established in 1984 primarily to protect the rare Pamir-Argali and extends over 14,000 km² of high mountains.

Geography and vegetation

The reserve is located on the border between China and Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. Half of the area is above 4500 m and encloses the northern flank of the Karakorum Mountains , the westernmost foothills of the Kunlun and the eastern edge of the Pamir Mountains. In the south, the 2200 km² Khunjerab National Park of Pakistan borders the protected area. The Karakoram Highway has connected China and Pakistan via the Khunjerab Pass since the late 1960s . Large areas of the protected area are too dry or too cold to allow the growth of lush vegetation. The only trees that grow in some low valleys below 3400 m are willow, tamarisk, poplar and birch. Only a few trees reach a height of 10 m. The upper vegetation limit is around 4400 m.

Wildlife

There are three wild ungulate species in the Taxkorgan Reserve. The Marco Polo Argali is the most threatened. In the 1980s, only about 150 of these large wild sheep lived in the reserve. Today the stocks have recovered to over 1000 animals. The other two ungulate species in the reserve are the Siberian ibex and the blue sheep , although both species only occur side by side in a few areas. Originally the kiang also appeared in Taxkorgan, but the equines are now extinct. The ungulates feed several large predators, such as snow leopards, wolves, and brown bears. About 7,750 people and 70,000 farm animals live in the reserve, which have a strong influence on the landscape through heavy grazing.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c George B. Schaller, Li Hong Talipu, Lu Hua, Ren Junrang, Qiu Mingjiang, Wang Haibin: Status of Large Mammals in the Taxkorgan Reserve, Xinjiang, China. Biological Conservation, 42: 53-71 (1987).
  2. ↑ George B. Schaller and Aili Kang (2008) Status of Marco Polo sheep Ovis ammon polii in China and adjacent countries: Conservation of a Vulnerable subspecies. Oryx Vol 42 No 1, 2008

Coordinates: 37 ° 0 '  N , 75 ° 30'  E