What is a nature reserve?

nature reserve is a general term for special areas designated to protect precious and endangered animals and plants and various typical ecosystems, protect precious geological sections, provide places for nature conservation education, scientific research and publicity activities, and carry out tourism and production activities in designated areas. Also known as "sanctuary", nature protected area, etc. Nature reserves are often concentrated distribution areas of some precious and rare animal and plant species, stopovers for migratory birds' breeding, wintering or migration, and concentrated production areas of some wild related species of breeding animals and cultivated plants, which have typical or special ecosystems; It is also often a natural scenic spot with beautiful scenery, geological sections with special protection value, fossil producing areas or glacial remains, karst, waterfalls, hot springs, craters and the location of meteorites.

It has a long history that countries around the world have set aside certain areas to protect precious animals, plants and their habitats, but Yellowstone National Park, the first national park approved by the US government in 1872, is generally regarded as the earliest nature reserve in the world. The cause of nature reserves has developed rapidly since the 2th century. Especially after the Second World War, many international organizations have been established around the world, engaged in the propaganda, coordination and scientific research of nature reserves, such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the Man and Biosphere Program of UNESCO. At present, the number and area of nature reserves are increasing all over the world, and they have become one of the symbols of a country's civilization and progress. In ancient China, there was a simple idea of nature protection. For example, the book Yi Zhou Shu Da Ju Pian said: "In spring and March, the mountains will grow into trees and grass without climbing an axe. In Xia San, Kawasawa did not enter the net, so he became a fish and a turtle. " The record. The government has taken measures to close the mountain forest, and the people often spontaneously demarcate some areas where firewood harvesting is not allowed, and formulate a number of village rules and regulations to manage them. In addition, the so-called "Shenmu", "Fengshui Forest", "Shenshan" and "Longshan" have played a role in protecting nature objectively, although they are superstitious, and some of them have already taken shape as nature reserves. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the establishment of nature reserves has been developed. By the end of 1988, 46 nature reserves at all levels had been established, accounting for about 2.4% of the national territory. Among them, Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in Jilin Province, Dinghushan Nature Reserve in Guangdong Province, Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, Fanjingshan Nature Reserve in Guizhou Province, Wuyishan Nature Reserve in Fujian Province and Xilingol Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have been listed as international biosphere reserves by UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Plan.

the role of nature reserves ① provides a place for human beings to study natural ecosystems. ② Provide the natural "background" of the ecosystem. Provide evaluation criteria for the consequences of human activities. ③ It is a natural laboratory for all kinds of ecological research, which is convenient for continuous and systematic long-term observation, breeding and domestication of rare species, etc. ④ It is a living natural museum for publicity and education. ⑤ Some areas in the reserve can carry out tourism activities. ⑥ It can play an important role in water conservation, soil and water conservation, environmental improvement and ecological balance.

The types of nature reserves in China can be divided into six types according to the objects and purposes of protection: ① Nature reserves with the purpose of protecting an integrated natural ecosystem. For example, Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve, which mainly protects temperate mountain ecosystems and natural landscapes, Wuyishan Nature Reserve, which mainly protects subtropical ecosystems, and Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, Yunnan, which protects tropical natural ecosystems. ② Nature reserves that mainly protect some precious animal resources. For example, nature reserves such as Wolong and Wang Lang in Sichuan mainly protect giant pandas, while nature reserves such as Zhalong in Heilongjiang and Xianghai in Jilin mainly protect red-crowned cranes; Sichuan Tiebu Nature Reserve mainly protects sika deer. ③ Nature reserves for the purpose of protecting rare relict plant and endemic vegetation types. For example, Huaping Nature Reserve in Guangxi mainly protects Cryptomeria fortunei and subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest; Fenglin Nature Reserve and Liangshui Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang mainly protect Korean pine forests; Fujian Wanmulin Nature Reserve mainly protects subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. (4) Nature reserves and national parks that mainly protect natural scenery. Such as Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, Jinyun Mountain Nature Reserve, Lushan Mountain Nature Reserve in Jiangxi and Yushan National Park in Taiwan Province Province. ⑤ Nature reserves that mainly protect unique geological sections and special landform types. For example, the Wudalianchi Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang, which mainly protects recent volcanic relics and natural landscapes; Tianjin Jixian Geological Profile Nature Reserve to protect precious geological profiles; Shandong Linqu Shanwang Wanjuan Biofossil Reserve, which protects important fossil producing areas, etc. ⑥ Nature reserves whose main purpose is to protect the coastal natural environment and natural resources. There are mainly Danshui Estuary Protection Zone in Taiwan Province Province, coastal protection zones such as Lanyang and Suhua Coast; Dongzhai Port Reserve and Qinglan Port Reserve in Hainan Province (to protect the unique mangroves on the beach), etc.

Due to the establishment of a series of nature reserves, some precious wild animals in China, such as giant panda, golden monkey, deer and alligator, have been initially protected, and some populations have been gradually developed. For example, the Breeding Research Center of the Chinese alligator reserve in Anhui has made a breakthrough in studying the wild habits, artificial breeding and artificial incubation of Chinese alligators, which has made the number of artificially bred Chinese alligators grow to more than 1,6 in a few years. Another example is that the rare animal Elk once lost from his hometown has returned to his hometown, and protected areas have been established in Dafeng County, Jiangsu Province and Nanyuan, Beijing, in order to be domesticated and propagated. Now the Elk Reserve in Dafeng County has the third largest population in the world. In addition, in the original forest of Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, the original Camptotheca acuminata forest was found. Some rare tree species and plants have been propagated and popularized in different nature reserves.