IUCN Management Category IV (Managed Nature Reserve)

Biogeographical Province 2.23.08 (Tibetan)

Geographical Location Situated on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in Yushu County, 40km west-north-west of Yushu, southern Qinghai Province. 33°10'N, 96'35'E

Date and History of Establishment Established as a nature reserve in 1984 by the local government of Qinghai (Anon., n.d.).

Area 10,000ha

Land Tenure Provincial government

Altitude 4,200m

Physical Features Longbao is a marsh (25km by 2-3km) lying in a high east-west-oriented mountain valley, with adjacent peaks rising to 5,270m. The marsh lies in an upper tributary of the Tongtian River, itself a tributary of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River). Numerous springs and streams supply the marsh. There are a number of freshwater ponds contain grassy islands formed by wave action. The maximum depth of the ponds is 2.5m, their bottoms being covered by a deep layer of silt (Zhi-yen, 1989).

Climate Conditions are cold and dry due to the influence of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Diurnal variations in temperature are large, with temperatures in May and June varying from -12°C to 19°C. Mean annual temperature is 5.0°C. Mean annual rainfall is less than 300mm and mean relative humidity is 55% (Zhi-yen, 1989).

Vegetation The alpine marshes and meadows support Carex spp., Eleochasis sp., Polygonum sibiricum, Kobresia reyleana, K. tibetica, Primulailla amscrina and Taraxacum spp. (Zhi-yen, 1989).

Fauna The marsh has a rich fish and arthropod fauna, and is an important breeding area for waterfowl. Over 1,000 black-necked cranes Grus nigricollis (R) use the reserve as a breeding and staging area (Anon, n.d.). Some eight breeding pairs and ten non-breeding pairs remain in the reserve throughout the summer, while the others move to other breeding sites in the vicinity. The marsh is also an important breeding area for bar-headed goose Anser indicus: the population increased from several dozen breeding pairs in 1980 to 2,000 pairs in 1986. Other breeding species include great-crested grebe Podiceps cristatus, ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea, goosander Mergus merganser, common coot Fulica atra, common redshank Tringa totanus and common tern Sterna hirundo (Zhi-yen, 1989).

Cultural Heritage No information

Local Human Population No information

Visitors and Visitor Facilities No information

Scientific Research and Facilities A number of studies have been carried out on the breeding of black-necked crane (Zhi-yen, 1989).

Conservation Value The reserve is particularly important for the protection of black-necked crane, and other species of waterfowl and their habitats (Wenhua and Xianying, 1989).

Conservation Management The reserve is administered locally by the Agriculture and Forestry Department in Qinghai Province under the supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency in Beijing (Anon, 1986). No management plan exists for the reserve.

Management Constraints None (Zhi-yen, 1989)

Staff No information

Budget No information

Local Addresses

Agriculture and Forestry Department, Xining, Qinghai Province

References

Anon. (n.d.). Fifteen new nature reserves for Qinghai Province. Xinhua.

Anon. (1986). Chinese wetland inventory. China Wildlife Conservation Association, Beijing. Unpublished. P. 1.

Wenhua, L. and Xianying, Z. (1989). China's nature reserves. Foreign Language Press, Beijing. P. 178.

Zhi-yen, Z. (1989). In: Scott, D.A. (Ed.), A directory of Asian wetlands. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Pp. 240-241.

Date April 1991