VEGETATION DYNAMICS IN THE DRY VALLEYS OF YUNNAN, CHINA, DURING THE LAST 150 YEARS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2006.0093

Abstract

Abstract:

In southwestern China, there are many opinions about past environmental conditions and the historical drivers of change, but little direct evidence. Such is the case in Dry Valley ecosystems, where current conservation programs appear to be based more on subjective perceptions than scientific understanding. Our research objective was to develop an historical profile—the description and explanation of environmental change—for the Dry Valleys to see if today's perceptions about past change are supported by data. Our study area encompassed northwestern Yunnan and adjacent Sichuan and Tibet. Specifically, we assessed vegetation dynamics by comparing historical records from 1868-1949 to conditions in 2001-2005. We used two sources to establish baseline conditions from which to assess change: 28 historical publications and 56 old photographs for which we rephotographed the modern scene. Our major finding is that there has been no substantial change in the cover of Dry Valley vegetation during the last 150 years. We also found that the aerial coverage of crop fields has decreased and major landslide activity was caused by chronic geological instability and infrastructure development. Overall, we found that comparisons of written and photographic records between 1868 and 2005 do not support many common assumptions regarding environmental degradation in the Dry Valleys, upon which current ecological restoration programs are based.

Key words: Repeat photography, Dry valleys, Northwestern Yunnan, Ecological restoration, Land use change

MOSELEY Robert K, TANG Ya. VEGETATION DYNAMICS IN THE DRY VALLEYS OF YUNNAN, CHINA, DURING THE LAST 150 YEARS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2006, 30(5): 713-722.

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References 79

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Feature	Definition and Justification	Trend Measurement	References
Dry-Warm Valley Vegetation Type	Shrub-dominated vegetation that indicates a long-term arid environment. No trees are present	Area	Jin, 2002; Ou et al., 2002
Lower treeline	The boundary between Dry-Warm Valley Vegetation Type and tree-dominated vegetation. Ecologically sensitive to land use and climate changes	Elevation	Nüsser,2000
Crop fields	Land annually cleared for crop production. Agricultural expansion is considered a major threat to native biodiversity	Area	Xu & Wilkes, 2004
Landslides	Debris flows and large-scale erosion features on the steep valley walls. These can be caused by inherent geological instability or land use practices	Number and Cause	Ives, 1987

Feature	Definition and Justification	Trend Measurement	References
Dry-Warm Valley Vegetation Type	Shrub-dominated vegetation that indicates a long-term arid environment. No trees are present	Area	Jin, 2002; Ou et al., 2002
Lower treeline	The boundary between Dry-Warm Valley Vegetation Type and tree-dominated vegetation. Ecologically sensitive to land use and climate changes	Elevation	Nüsser,2000
Crop fields	Land annually cleared for crop production. Agricultural expansion is considered a major threat to native biodiversity	Area	Xu & Wilkes, 2004
Landslides	Debris flows and large-scale erosion features on the steep valley walls. These can be caused by inherent geological instability or land use practices	Number and Cause	Ives, 1987

Person	Year	Province (County)	River Valley (Location)	Reference
Thomas Cooper	1868	Yunnan (Deqin)	Lancang (Ninong)	Cooper, 1871
William Gill	1877	Yunnan (Deqin) Sichuan (Derong)	Lancang (Adong) Jinsha (Benzilan)	Gill, 1878
Henri Davies	1900	Yunnan (Deqin) Sichuan (Derong)	Jinsha (Benzilan) Lancang (Meilishi)	Davies, 1909
Reginald Johnston	1906	Yunnan (Yulong, Ninglang)	Jinsha (Fengke)	Johnston, 1908
Jacques Bacot	1907	Tibet (Zhayu)	Nujiang	Bacot, 1909
Frank Kingdon Ward	1911-1922	Yunnan Sichuan Tibet	Jinsha Lancang Nujiang	Ward, 1912a, 1912b, 1912c, 1913a, 1913b, 1913c, 1913d, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1923
Heinrich Handel-Mazzetti	1914-1916	Yunnan (Luchuan, Yulong, Ninglang, Shangri-La, Deqin) Sichuan (Muli)	Jinsha Yalong	Handel-Mazzetti, 1927
Francis Goré	1920-1937	Yunnan (Deqin) Tibet (Mangkang, Zhayu)	Lancang Nujiang	Goré,1939
John Gregory	1922	Yunnan (Deqin) Sichuan (Derong)	Lancang Jinsha (Benzilan)	Gregory & Gregory, 1923
Joseph Rock	1923-1929	Yunnan (Deqin, Yulong, Shangri-La, Yongsheng, Ninglang) Tibet (Zhayu)	Jinsha (Fengke,Daan,Benzilan) Lancang (Yangza,Liutongjiang) Nujiang	Rock, 1925, 1926, 1947
Gordon Thompson	1924	Yunnan (Deqin)	Lancang (Jiabi)	Thompson, 1926
André Guibaut	1936	Tibet (Zhayu)	Nujiang	Guibaut, 1938; Guibaut & Liotard, 1941, 1945
Patrick Fitzgerald	1937	Yunnan (Yulong)	Jinsha (Dajiu)	Fitzgerald, 1941
Maurice Tornay	1947	Tibet (Mangkang)	Lancang (Yanjing)	Loup, 1956

Person	Year	Province (County)	River Valley (Location)	Reference
Thomas Cooper	1868	Yunnan (Deqin)	Lancang (Ninong)	Cooper, 1871
William Gill	1877	Yunnan (Deqin) Sichuan (Derong)	Lancang (Adong) Jinsha (Benzilan)	Gill, 1878
Henri Davies	1900	Yunnan (Deqin) Sichuan (Derong)	Jinsha (Benzilan) Lancang (Meilishi)	Davies, 1909
Reginald Johnston	1906	Yunnan (Yulong, Ninglang)	Jinsha (Fengke)	Johnston, 1908
Jacques Bacot	1907	Tibet (Zhayu)	Nujiang	Bacot, 1909
Frank Kingdon Ward	1911-1922	Yunnan Sichuan Tibet	Jinsha Lancang Nujiang	Ward, 1912a, 1912b, 1912c, 1913a, 1913b, 1913c, 1913d, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1923
Heinrich Handel-Mazzetti	1914-1916	Yunnan (Luchuan, Yulong, Ninglang, Shangri-La, Deqin) Sichuan (Muli)	Jinsha Yalong	Handel-Mazzetti, 1927
Francis Goré	1920-1937	Yunnan (Deqin) Tibet (Mangkang, Zhayu)	Lancang Nujiang	Goré,1939
John Gregory	1922	Yunnan (Deqin) Sichuan (Derong)	Lancang Jinsha (Benzilan)	Gregory & Gregory, 1923
Joseph Rock	1923-1929	Yunnan (Deqin, Yulong, Shangri-La, Yongsheng, Ninglang) Tibet (Zhayu)	Jinsha (Fengke,Daan,Benzilan) Lancang (Yangza,Liutongjiang) Nujiang	Rock, 1925, 1926, 1947
Gordon Thompson	1924	Yunnan (Deqin)	Lancang (Jiabi)	Thompson, 1926
André Guibaut	1936	Tibet (Zhayu)	Nujiang	Guibaut, 1938; Guibaut & Liotard, 1941, 1945
Patrick Fitzgerald	1937	Yunnan (Yulong)	Jinsha (Dajiu)	Fitzgerald, 1941
Maurice Tornay	1947	Tibet (Mangkang)	Lancang (Yanjing)	Loup, 1956

Landslide category	Number of VLSS
Chronic landslides	14
New landslides from geologic instability	2
New landslides from man-made causes	6