View source for Central China loess plateau mixed forests

{{Short description|Ecoregion in North-Central China}}
{{Infobox ecoregion
|name = Central China Loess Plateau Mixed Forests
|image = 百丈崖顶 - Cliff Top - 2012.10 - panoramio.jpg
|image_size = 300
|image_alt =
|caption = Central China Loess Plateau Mixed Forests
|map = Ecoregion PA0411.jpg
|map_size = 300
|map_alt = Ecoregion territory (in yellow)
|map_caption = Ecoregion territory (in yellow)
|ecozone = [[Palearctic]]
|biome = [[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest]]
|animals =
|bird_species =
|borders =
|area = 359867
|countries = [[China]]
|state =
|region_type =
|elevation =
|coordinates = {{coord|37|00|N|112|45|E|display=inline,title}}
|geology =
|seas =
|rivers =
|climate =
|soil = [[Loess]]
|conservation =
|global200 =
|habitat_loss =
|habitat_loss_ref =
|protected =
|protected_ref =
}}
The '''Central China Loess Plateau Mixed Forests''' [[ecoregion]] (WWF ID: PA0411) covers an elongated plateau across north-central China, characterized by accumulated soils of wind-blown dust known as [[loess]] and glacial till.  The yellowish soil imparts its color to the Yellow River and Yellow Sea downstream.  The ecoregion is located west of the lower [[Yellow River]] basin and the [[North China Plain]].<ref name='wwf'>{{cite web|title=Central China Loess Plateau Mixed Forests|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/PA0411|publisher=World Wildlife Federation|language=en|access-date=October 29, 2019}}</ref><ref name="ecomap">{{cite web|title=Map of Ecoregions 2017|url=https://ecoregions2017.appspot.com/|publisher=Resolve, using WWF data|language=en|access-date=September 14, 2019}}</ref>
== Location and description ==
The ecoregion runs about 1,600 km from southwest to northeast, and is about 300 km wide. The loess soil is up to 200 meters thick, with the greatest depths in the southwest, where consolidated loess can be formed into mountains.  Thinner deposits are in the northeast where the loess only fills basins.<ref name="wwf"/>   Because loess retains nutrients and water well, the soil can support vegetation through dry seasons.
== Climate ==
The climate of the ecoregion is ''[[Humid continental climate|Humid continental climate, warm summer]]'' ([[Köppen climate classification]] [[Humid_continental_climate#Koppen_Dwb|(Dwb)]]), with a dry winter.  This climate is characterized by large seasonal temperature differentials and a warm summer (at least four months averaging over {{convert|10|C|F}}, but no month averaging over {{convert|22|C|F}}, and cold winters having monthly precipitation less than one-tenth of the wettest summer month.<ref>{{cite web|first1=M. |last1=Kottek |first2=J. |last2=Grieser |first3=C. |last3=Beck |first4=B. |last4=Rudolf |first5=F. |last5=Rubel |date=2006 |title=World Map of Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Updated|url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/Paper_2006.pdf|publisher=Gebrüder Borntraeger 2006|language=en|access-date=September 14, 2019}}</ref><ref name="kop-data">{{cite web|title=Dataset - Koppen climate classifications|url=https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/world-maps-k%C3%B6ppen-geiger-climate-classification|publisher=World Bank|language=en|access-date=September 14, 2019}}</ref>
== Flora and fauna ==
The plateau supports mixed deciduous broadleaf forests in the northern and eastern areas, although vegetation gets more sparse and poor towards the southwest. Conversion of forest to agriculture over time has led to erosion and loss of vegetation, which has been severe in some areas.  The general belief is that the area was once heavily forested with tall trees, however recent research suggests that much of the area may have been grassland at times in the past 20,000 years.<ref name="scmp">{{cite web|title=New study uproots popular belief in Central China's leafy Loess Plateau|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1246865/new-study-uproots-popular-belief-leafy-loess-plateau|publisher=South China Morning Post|language=en|access-date=October 31, 2019}}</ref>
[[File:5902-Linxia-County-Xihe-township-canyon.jpg|thumb|left|300px|A canyon formed in the soft loess soil, Linxia County]]
== Conservation ==
Since the 1950s the government has heavily supported tree-planting programs for erosion control in the region, converting unproductive agricultural land on steep slopes to forest.<ref name="agu">{{cite journal|title=Satellite evidence for significant biophysical consequences of the "Grain for Green" Program on the Loess Plateau in China|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences|volume=119|issue=12|pages=2261–2275|publisher=AGU100|language=en|doi=10.1002/2014JG002820|year=2014|last1=Xiao|first1=Jingfeng|url=https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1164&context=ersc|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2017 estimate approximated that 17,299 square kilometers of the region are in protected areas,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|author-link1=:de:Eric Dinerstein|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|author-link6=Eric Wikramanayake|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|author-link10=Reed Noss|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|author-link12=Harvey Locke|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C.|author-link13=Erle Ellis|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|author-link18=Vance Martin|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Secrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|author-link24=Kieran Suckling|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|author-link39=Shahina A. Ghazanfar|last40=Timberlate|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=3|date=2017-04-05|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=[[BioScience]]|volume=67|issue=6|pages=534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|doi-access=free|pmc=5451287|pmid=28608869|issn=0006-3568}}</ref> including the [[Lishan National Nature Reserve]] in [[Guangxi]], and the [[Luyashan National Nature Reserve|Luyashan National]] and the [[Pangquangou National Nature Reserve|Pangquangou National]] Nature Reserves in [[Shanxi]].
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Forests of China]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of China]]
[[Category:Palearctic ecoregions]]
[[Category:Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests]]