Different pedological and vegetable domains correspond to the different climatic areas. In Manchuria the steppe associations on dark soils prevail in the plains, in černozëm, while the temperate broad – leaved forest on brown soils grows on the hills; however, conifers appear in it, dominant in the northernmost sections, where there is an appendage of the subarctic forest (firs, pines, birches, maples and all the characteristic species of the cold boreal area). On the alluvial soils of the Huang He plains there are formations of temperate broad-leaved trees; but here the original landscape has been totally transformed by the millennial agricultural exploitation; there are only arboreal spots around the villages. AS del Chang Jiang you enter a vast subtropical domain that has a rich and peculiar vegetation cover of evergreen species: it is the Sinic area of bamboo, which goes up to 1000 m, and to which the lauraceae, the tree of camphor, cinnamon; in the higher floors conifers appear. The original vegetal mantle in this region is still relatively extensive, especially on the hills, not occupied by agriculture; the most luxuriant forests, rich in tropical and subtropical species, are found in Yunnan; here too, however, there is no lack of areas degraded by agriculture. In the arid inland regions you enter the vast domain of the steppes, which begin with peculiar characters in the lands of the Löss, which covers, with thicknesses up to 600 m, large areas of the Huang He basin, where shrubs are associated with grasses. In the highlands of Inner Mongolia the steppe formations are extremely impoverished, consisting of xerophilous shrub species and again from grasses; on large areas there are sandy soils completely devoid of vegetation (Gobi). In the large basins of the Tarim and Zungaria the steppe is broken, in the foothills, by the riparian vegetation of the oases (poplars, etc.), while on the mountainous slopes above, coniferous forests extend in the more humid areas. Visit health-beauty-guides.com for Asia overview.
A particular vegetation, typical of a cold high mountain environment, is finally found on the Tibetan plateaus, with steppe associations of grasses that in the wettest places, below 4500 m, are enriched with rhododendrons, mountain shrubs and species typical of alpine meadows. In most of eastern China, natural vegetation, and especially the forest, has been destroyed over the centuries by human intervention, which has completely changed plant development, with the progressive replacement of forest crops, especially in the subtropical and tropical areas.. In the steppes of the West it was pastoral practice, which in those places is the prevalent occupation, that transformed the vegetation cover. Reforestation interventions have been underway for over thirty years with the aim of progressively restoring fertility to land that has become sterile, stopping the erosive process. The Chinese fauna is extremely rich and varied, especially of vertebrates, among which endemic species abound. Rhinopithecus roxellanae, is typical of the high mountains of central and southwestern China (in Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou), while some of its subspecies go as far as Tibet.
In Yunnan there is also the cap langur and in almost all the southern regions there are the spectacled monkey and numerous species of macaques. Always among the Mammals the aquatic deer is exclusive, while the elaphode and the muntjak cervulus are widespread. Among the Carnivores the giant panda lives in the mountains of Sichuan, the lesser panda in the regions of southern China; there are also numerous raccoon dogs, desert cats, tigers and snow leopards. The birds include many specimens, especially pheasants (blue, golden, Lady Amherst, silver, etc.), Some tragopans, the ‘ Mandarin Duck, the Dalmatian pelican, the cormorant and shag. Of the reptiles, the most characteristic species is the alligator of China, which lives exclusively in the Chang Jiang basin; of the Amphibians, the Davidian salamander, which lives in the mountain streams of the western part of the country, and the batracupero by Karl Schmidt. Finally in many inland waters are fish including a paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) and goldfish bred for ornamental purposes from very remote times and exported first to Japan and then all over the world between the sec. XVI and XVIII. Among the main environmental problems of the country are air pollution, acid rain, drought (especially in the North), water pollution, soil erosion, desertification, which produces the loss of agricultural soils., and trade in endangered animal species. The Huang He appears to be one of the most polluted waterways in the world and poses a risk to tens of millions of people living along its banks. Protected areas cover 16.12% of the territory; there are over 2000 nature reserves throughout the country, including a huge number of national parks. Among the largest parks are those of Qiangtang (298. 000 km²) and Sanjiangyuan (152,300 km²). UNESCO has declared 10 natural sites of China as World Heritage Sites: the Huanglong region (1992), the Jiuzhaigou valley region (1992), the Wuling Yuan region (1992), the protected areas of the three parallel rivers of the Yunnan province (2003), the Sichuan giant panda sanctuaries (2006), the Carsi of southern China (2007), the Mount Sanqing national park (2008), the sandstone reliefs of the Chinese Danxia (2010), the fossil site of Chengjiang (2012) and the Tian (Tianshan) mountain range in Xinjiang (2013). Four are the natural and cultural sites chosen by UNESCO: Mount Tai (Taishan, 1987), the Huangshan mountains (1990), Mount Emei, which includes the Great Buddha of Leshan (1996), and the Wuyi mountains (1999).
