The Great Khingan Mountains is located in northeast China, and it contains the largest state-owned forest with a total area of 8.46 square kilometer. With the width of 200 to 300km and length of 1220 km, the Great Khingan started from the Heilongjiang province in north and narrowed down to south. The average elevation of the area is roughly 1200 to 1300 meters with the highest peak of 2035 meters. The Great Khingan covers 84,600 square kilometers and forest stock has a total volume of 501 million cubic meters, which is 7.8% of China’s total forest amount.
As mentioned earlier, the Great Khingan brought a generous amount of trees for humans to use. More railroads were built across the forests for convenient transportation. In addition, the ecosystem also benefits the economy. During Guangxu 32 years, huge amount of gold was found, which brought a great fortune to the country. Moreover, even nowadays people who inhabited in the north of the forest still make their living of felling and hunting. In addition, the biodiversity of the forest makes a great contribution to human’s ecology study.
Map of the Great Khingan Area
The location of the Great Khingan Area in China
As one of the most diverse forests in China, the Great Khingan Forest was originally formed during the Jurassic orogeny period. Date back to the early Qing density, the Hans were forbiddened to enter the forest, so the forest easily maintained its great diversity. The Siberian and Manchurian floras largely influenced the dense forest. Precious pine, Mongalian oak tree, birch and other rare species are largely grown in the forests. Also animals like deer, sable, brown bear and more than 1000 species of wildlives can be easily found in the forest.
However, the ecosystem of the Great Khingan was eventually affected by humans. During the colonization of Japan (1931-1945), huge amount of trees were felled to build railroads. Although the railroads made a great connection of the Great Khingan and the Lesser Khingan and increased the transportation efficiency, the biodiversity suffered serious damages. Moreover, the forest fire had always been a challenge for the Great Khingan forest. In 1987, the May Six Fire was accidently lighted by a forest worker, which lead the biggest wildfire in China’s history. The fire lasted nearly a month and covered 10,000 square kilometers. Thousands of trees were destroyed in the fire. The original ecosystem was badly damaged and would take decades to recover.
In addition, the most serious and ugly human impact on this ecosystem is deforestation. In pre-historical times, The Great Khingan area had 34 millions hectares coved forest. In contrast, in year 1988, The Great Khingan area had 15 millions hectares coved forest. More than half of the forest has disappeared due to human activities like cropping. Moreover, the conservation status is bad, as the Chinese government did not realize this problem until the end of 20th century. Hence, the human impact on this ecosystem is really ugly.
Map of deforestation grow in Great Khingan Area for the past 60 years
As the major ecological crisis at the Great Khingan areas is the rapid deforestation rate, there are following methods I believe can be effective in improving the human impact on this ecosystem. First, government should play an important role in encouraging and financially supporting to plant more trees in order to achieve a sustainable ecological system. Government should also raise the awareness among the public to raise funding to plant tree for the purpose of conservation of the forest in Great Khingan area. In addition, government should also implement some governmental policies to encourage domestic major wood consumers to obtain their resources by importing from other countries. Another way government can use to regulate and reduce the deforestation rate is to increase the cost of cropping trees license and impose sales taxes on locally cropped wood which will increase the price of the local cropped trees. At the same time, the government and many non-profit organizations would work hard on persuading consumers to use alternative resources which are more environmental friendly for their massive production which will result in decrease in demand of local cropped tree. Hence, with the price increased and demand decreased, the supply of local cropped tree will eventually decrease to a equilibrium points where the deforestation rate will reach zero. Therefore, in order to achieve this goal , we, as different parties involved in this issue, would have different responsibilities in insuring a better ecosystem for future generation.
Table 2: Estimate of the Total Area of Forests in Pre-Historic China
Province
|
Land
Currently
Suitable for
Forestry
(1,000 ha)
|
Built-up
Land
(1,000 ha)
|
Cropland
(1,000 ha)
|
Forested
Areas in
Pre-Historic
Times
(1,000 ha)
|
Forest
Cover
(1,000 ha,
% of total
area)
|
Beijing
|
630
|
90
|
409
|
1,129
|
67
|
Tianjin
|
50
|
75
|
430
|
555
|
50
|
Hebei
|
6,210
|
1,801
|
6,544
|
14,555
|
77
|
Shanxi
|
5,770
|
1,832
|
3,681
|
11,283
|
75
|
Inner Mongolia
|
44,094
|
4,705
|
5,082
|
53,881
|
49
|
Liaoning
|
6,710
|
1,647
|
3,452
|
11,809
|
79
|
Jilin
|
8,769
|
2,076
|
3,932
|
14,777
|
82
|
Heilongjiang
|
21,537
|
4,438
|
8,905
|
34,880
|
76
|
Shanghai
|
10
|
110
|
318
|
438
|
75
|
Jiangsu
|
504
|
567
|
4,522
|
5,592
|
56
|
Zhejiang
|
5,898
|
521
|
1,691
|
8,109
|
81
|
Anhui
|
3,550
|
478
|
4,334
|
8,462
|
64
|
Fujian
|
8,875
|
1,278
|
1,229
|
11,381
|
95
|
Jiangxi
|
10,578
|
1,765
|
2,337
|
14,680
|
92
|
Shandong
|
1,937
|
706
|
6,798
|
9,441
|
63
|
Henan
|
3,839
|
727
|
6,887
|
11,453
|
72
|
Hubei
|
7,403
|
1,830
|
3,422
|
12,654
|
70
|
Hunan
|
11,730
|
2,056
|
3,296
|
17,082
|
81
|
Guangdong
|
12,244
|
3,478
|
2,879
|
18,601
|
85
|
Guangxi
|
13,963
|
2,694
|
2,611
|
19,268
|
84
|
Sichuan
|
19,031
|
6,764
|
6,256
|
32,050
|
57
|
Guizhou
|
9,010
|
2,067
|
1,849
|
12,926
|
76
|
Yunan
|
26,124
|
4,085
|
2,858
|
33,062
|
87
|
Tibet
|
11,721
|
832
|
224
|
12,777
|
11
|
Shaanxi
|
12,487
|
2,234
|
3,488
|
18,208
|
96
|
Gansu
|
6,132
|
3,226
|
3,482
|
12,839
|
33
|
Qinghai
|
3,037
|
1,323
|
580
|
4,940
|
7
|
Ningxia
|
621
|
599
|
801
|
2,021
|
31
|
Xinjiang
|
2,694
|
4,084
|
3,134
|
9,911
|
6
|
Taiwan
|
1,970
|
166
|
1,284
|
3,420
|
95
|
Total
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
413,983
|
43
|
Table 3: Forest Cover in 1948 China (1,000 ha)
Region
|
Actually Forested Area
|
Land Suitable for Forest Cover
|
Northeast
|
30,690
|
38,062
|
Northwest
|
6,156
|
94,928
|
Shaanxi
|
1,990
|
4,682
|
Gansu
|
2,285
|
8,760
|
Ningxia
|
59
|
7,864
|
Qinghai
|
1,456
|
34,225
|
Xinjiang
|
366
|
39,397
|
Southwest
|
26,676
|
80,227
|
Sichuan
|
8,289
|
6,055
|
Xikang
|
6,139
|
22,690
|
Guizhou
|
1,588
|
7,236
|
Yunan
|
9,167
|
10,762
|
Tibet
|
1,493
|
33,485
|
East
|
5,866
|
16,279
|
Jiangsu
|
275
|
1,838
|
Zhejiang
|
808
|
2,122
|
Anhui
|
713
|
3,567
|
Shandong
|
108
|
4,504
|
Fujian
|
2,179
|
3,753
|
Taiwan
|
1,783
|
496
|
Central South
|
11,921
|
35,611
|
Henan
|
103
|
5,061
|
Hubei
|
2,367
|
4,917
|
Hunan
|
4,094
|
6,679
|
Jiangxi
|
2,019
|
4,542
|
Guangdong
|
2,238
|
6,715
|
Guangxi
|
1,099
|
7,696
|
North
|
1,496
|
24,487
|
Hebei
|
126
|
4,089
|
Chahar
|
155
|
7,350
|
Suiyuan
|
243
|
7,545
|
Shanxi
|
971
|
5,503
|
Total
|
82,805
|
289,594
|
Source: Lee Ting et. al. (ed.) Forestry of Contemporary China (The Social Sciences Publishers of
China: Beijing, 1985) pp. 608-9. This Table draws on The Classification of Lands in China,
published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Guomindang government (January,
1948)
| ||
Table 4: An Alternative Estimate of Forest Cover in 1948 China
Province
|
Forested Area
(1,000 ha)
|
Growing Stock
(million m3)
|
Hebei
|
635
|
10
|
Shanxi
|
367
|
10
|
Inner Mongolia
|
13,740
|
848
|
Liaoning
|
1,884
|
67
|
Jilin
|
4,270
|
610
|
Heilongjiang
|
16,707
|
1848
|
Jiangsu
|
275
|
4
|
Zhejiang
|
808
|
13
|
Anhui
|
713
|
22
|
Fujian
|
2,179
|
120
|
Jiangxi
|
2,019
|
72
|
Shandong
|
108
|
1
|
Henan
|
103
|
4
|
Hubei
|
2,367
|
52
|
Hunan
|
4,094
|
171
|
Guangdong
|
3,720
|
106
|
Guangxi
|
1,099
|
34
|
Sichuan
|
8,700
|
1,600
|
Guizhou
|
1,588
|
87
|
Yunan
|
9,167
|
908
|
Tibet
|
6,320
|
1,436
|
Shaanxi
|
1,990
|
87
|
Gansu
|
2,285
|
231
|
Qinghai
|
191
|
21
|
Ningxia
|
59
|
3
|
Xinjiang
|
366
|
54
|
Taiwan
|
1,783
|
205
|
Total
|
87,538
|
8,624
|
Total Coverage
|
9.1%
|
-
|
Table 5: Forest Cover in China - 1976, 1981, and 1988 (1,000 ha).
Province
|
1976
|
1981
|
1988
|
Beijing
|
200
|
144
|
215
|
Tianjin
|
30
|
30
|
62
|
Hebei
|
2,010
|
1,677
|
2,011
|
Shanxi
|
1,090
|
810
|
993
|
Inner Mongolia
|
10,700
|
13,740
|
13,836
|
Liaoning
|
3,420
|
3,653
|
3,939
|
Jilin
|
6,510
|
6,079
|
6,231
|
Heilongjiang
|
16,660
|
15,294
|
15,615
|
Shanghai
|
10
|
8
|
9
|
Jiangsu
|
340
|
325
|
386
|
Zhejiang
|
3,960
|
3,429
|
4,037
|
Anhui
|
1,750
|
1,792
|
2,261
|
Fujian
|
5,900
|
4,496
|
5,003
|
Jiangxi
|
6,100
|
5,462
|
5,992
|
Shandong
|
1,320
|
905
|
1,596
|
Henan
|
1,790
|
1,420
|
1,571
|
Hubei
|
4,360
|
3,779
|
3,854
|
Hunan
|
6,580
|
6,872
|
6,754
|
Guangdong
|
7,480
|
5,879
|
4,864
|
Hainan
|
-
|
-
|
866
|
Guangxi
|
5,510
|
5,227
|
5,227
|
Sichuan
|
7,460
|
6,811
|
10,872
|
Guizhou
|
2,561
|
2,309
|
2,221
|
Yunan
|
9,560
|
9,197
|
9,327
|
Tibet
|
6,320
|
6,320
|
6,320
|
Shaanxi
|
4,580
|
4,471
|
4,708
|
Gansu
|
1,870
|
1,769
|
2,029
|
Qinghai
|
190
|
195
|
266
|
Ningxia
|
60
|
95
|
118
|
Xinjiang
|
1,440
|
1,121
|
1,497
|
Taiwan
|
2,069
|
1,970
|
1,970
|
Total
|
121,860
|
115,277
|
124,653
|
Table 6: Growing Stock in China's Forests - 1976, 1981 and 1988
(million m3)
Provinces
|
Total 1976
Growing
Stock
|
Total 1981
Growing
Stock
|
Total 1988
Growing
Stock
|
Forests
1976
|
Forests
1981
|
Forests
1988
|
Beijing
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
Tianjin
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Hebei
|
73
|
48
|
62
|
62
|
26
|
43
|
Shanxi
|
57
|
53
|
45
|
39
|
33
|
38
|
Inner Mongolia
|
946
|
946
|
1,025
|
848
|
848
|
865
|
Liaoning
|
87
|
109
|
132
|
83
|
100
|
121
|
Jilin
|
730
|
711
|
760
|
695
|
608
|
710
|
Heilongjiang
|
1,580
|
1,552
|
1,481
|
1,468
|
1,434
|
1,317
|
Shanghai
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Jiangsu
|
13
|
15
|
28
|
5
|
3
|
7
|
Zhejiang
|
82
|
99
|
101
|
63
|
79
|
88
|
Anhui
|
47
|
70
|
85
|
40
|
55
|
71
|
Fujian
|
243
|
431
|
379
|
224
|
296
|
264
|
Jiangxi
|
263
|
303
|
242
|
218
|
236
|
169
|
Shandong
|
23
|
24
|
47
|
12
|
5
|
11
|
Henan
|
79
|
68
|
92
|
50
|
32
|
40
|
Hubei
|
96
|
118
|
124
|
92
|
99
|
107
|
Hunan
|
189
|
199
|
183
|
150
|
160
|
141
|
Guangdong
|
212
|
232
|
152
|
199
|
203
|
128
|
Hainan
|
-
|
-
|
63
|
-
|
-
|
58
|
Guangxi
|
193
|
266
|
242
|
171
|
221
|
204
|
Sichuan
|
1,347
|
1,153
|
1,410
|
1,298
|
1,049
|
1,273
|
Guizhou
|
159
|
159
|
140
|
141
|
126
|
108
|
Yunan
|
989
|
1,321
|
1,349
|
946
|
1,097
|
1,097
|
Tibet
|
1,436
|
1,436
|
1,436
|
1,403
|
1,401
|
1,401
|
Shaanxi
|
244
|
279
|
295
|
243
|
252
|
259
|
Gansu
|
198
|
173
|
192
|
189
|
164
|
172
|
Qinghai
|
31
|
23
|
35
|
24
|
17
|
30
|
Ningxia
|
5
|
4
|
7
|
3
|
3
|
5
|
Xinjiang
|
237
|
235
|
232
|
213
|
200
|
183
|
Taiwan
|
186
|
227
|
227
|
186
|
227
|
227
|
Reference List:
1.
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