The reckless Taigarin connects the Daxing'an Mountains of our country with Siberia, the same species, the same scene, in it, as if in the Russian Far East.
Daxing'anling in Inner Mongolia in early October (Photo by Liu Lu)
The skeleton of Daxing'anling landform has undergone three glacial movements, which were formed in the Cretaceous Period 70 million years ago, and its zonal vegetation type is cold and warm coniferous forest, that is, Taijia forest, which is mainly composed of Xing'an larch forest and a small number of European pine variants of sassafras pine, and the area of Xing'an larch forest accounts for more than 90% of the total forest area.
The reckless Taigarin connects our country, the Daxing'an Mountains, with Siberia, the same species, the same scene, in it, as if in the Russian Far East.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > the primary forest of China's "cold pole"</h1>
The main ridge of Daxing'anling is located in the Khanma National Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia, which is the coldest area in China. The Taigarin here is a true primeval forest, like a leaf-like gem set on the crown of a chicken on the map of China.
In the extreme cold of winter, the forest becomes a white fairy tale world, even the trunks of trees will be covered with rime, and the trees that can survive here are "tough guys" with iron bones. (Photo by Liu Zhaoming)
This is the northernmost part of China, known as China's "cold pole", and it is still covered with snow and ice in May. The Khanma Reserve is surrounded by ridges, high on all sides and low in the middle, where snowmelt water converges from the hillside to the middle of the reserve with the Tarya River as the main stream, from which many rivers originate. "Khanma" is derived from the Evenk language, which is the "source of the riptide river", an important tributary of the Erguna River. Under the snow quilt, the quietly melting water is rich in the nutrients of the forest leaves and shrubs, trickling down, covering the surface of the Thalia Glacier, colorful, which is the most characteristic beauty of the Spring of Khanma, known as "peach blossom water". This water is sweet, clear and inexplicably fragrant.
The surface of the Taiga forest in the Khanma Reserve is densely covered with mosses and lichen plants, which are the reindeer's favorite food. (Photo by Li Wenliang)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="50" > simple but not monotonous</h1>
Larch is tall and tall, a "straight man of steel" posture, the leaves are also young in spring and autumn, the four seasons are different, is the brightest background color of the colorful taiga forest. The "Cold Gate Brothers" sassafras pine has a thick trunk, lush horizontal branches, mottled bark, and strong tolerance. Even in very arid and barren soil conditions and rock crevices, it can grow a dense canopy, tall and beautiful sassafras pine. Close to the sassafras pine, you will clearly feel the masculinity of a middle-aged man. It is the most characteristic plant community in the high-altitude area of Taiga Forest, which is an evergreen conifer species distributed on individual summits and slopes above 1200 meters above sea level. In order to adapt to the severe cold of wind and snow, in winter, under the gravity of the snow, the pines crawl on the surface, and when the snow melts, they stand up again. Pine nuts are fragrant, so the pine forest is also a food source and habitat for sables, gray rats and many birds.
In the cold temperate zone of Taigarin, summer is very short, and all life must seize the time to enjoy the sun and heat, strive to grow, and show their diversity. Although the biodiversity of Taigalin is not high, the Summer Khanma Nature Reserve is like a big garden, the mountain flowers are full of flowers, and the competition is colorful: the willow orchid is like a clump of falling mist, a piece, the bluebells sway quietly in the wind, the meadowsweet enthusiastically attracts bees and butterflies, and the litmus are soft as a sponge, so clean that you can't bear to step on it... In addition to tall trees, shrubs, herbs, mosses and lichens are also dense, with more than 90% understory cover and a wide variety of plants. There are more than 620 kinds of wild higher plants in the Khan horse, and it is not an exaggeration to crown the Khan Horse as a treasure trove of cold temperate plant genes, which is a very primitive and healthy ecosystem.
The surface of the bright taiga forest is full of life in summer and autumn due to the good sunlight and moisture conditions, and the bright red bilberry fruit and bright mushrooms often dot the forest into miniature gardens. (Photo by Zhou Haixiang)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="51" > play colorful music with flexible life</h1>
Water and forest vegetation are the main themes of the Taiga forest nature symphony, and those living beings that depend on it are the colorful movements and climaxes of the symphony.
In May, although the forest has a clear view and no new leaves are seen, the song of new life may quietly begin or rise. The most spectacular and pompous event was the wedding of the black-billed grouse. Every year from mid-April to early May, black-billed grouse gather in some places to open the curtain on courtship dance, which is commonly known as "running circle". At 3 a.m., the male beats the beat of the dance steps— like the sound of two wooden sticks tapping, and the drums rise and fall, breaking the tranquility of the morning light. The fight between males is called dance by romantics, and clapping or boxing by realistic people. The winner has a large number of wives and concubines, and many descendants, and the loser secretly cultivates and will come back next year.
Black-billed grouse running circles has always been misunderstood as the female looking at which male with a good dance will follow the honeymoon. But through the observation of 3 chickens for several years in a row, they are actually like a ring match, and only after a month or so of competition does the winning chicken king have the mating rights of many females. (Photo by Zhou Haixiang)
Khanma's Taigarin is also inhabited by many birds: birds of prey such as Ulin Owl, Eagle Owl, Hairy-legged Fish Owl, Great Grebe and Magpie Harrier, etc., waterfowl common magpie duck, common autumn sand duck, red-winged duck and green-headed duck, as well as white-loined sand sand duck, forest sand duck, heron and other wading birds, forest bird species are also very rich, just listen to the sound of the forest in the forest, different styles of birds to know: gentle people such as songbirds, yellow finches; miserable people such as ravens, north noisy crows; deep people such as forest owls, eagle owl. Bugs and woodpeckers will help dead trees get into the next ecological cycle as quickly as possible. Birds that breed in the summer on the Khan horse are endless, they depend on the forest for their livelihood, and they are also loyal guardians of the forest.
The maximum water temperature of the river in Khanma does not exceed 18 ° C. Such extremely low temperatures are ideal for cold-water fish. They are generally small in size, growing slowly, and seeing slender little fish swimming rapidly in the cold water, how can they not lament the tenacity of life.
It would be nice to be able to meet the mammals of the forest unexpectedly. The large ungulate herbivores that settled in Khan Mategarin include moose and red deer, and the place where the probability of encountering moose in summer is in Niu'er Lake, and they and other ungulates like to move in river bends and river valley swamps, often soaking in water, which is convenient for eating aquatic plants and preventing mosquito bites. The slightly inferior Siberian roe deer often occurs on forest edges and swamps. When encountering a noise or an accident, the roe deer's curiosity drives it to find out, it is not in a hurry to escape, and it usually has time to leave a picture for it, which is probably the reason for the history of "sticks and roe deer"! The petite, endangered "incense deer", whose real name is the original musk, has previously decreased sharply, but in Khanma, there are signs that there is still a relatively healthy population of proto-musk living here.
Roe deer are the more common deer in forests. When encountering noise or accidents, do not rush to escape, which is probably why people often say "sticks and roe deer"! (Photo by Zhou Haixiang)
Agile, fierce, agile elves are brown bears, sables, mink bears, lynx, shrews, shrews, otters and weasels living in sweat horses, and the current images are mainly derived from infrared cameras fixed in the wild.
In the summer, in the sweat horse, you are often startled by the flower-tailed hazel chickens that fly out of nowhere, and all kinds of birds are busy with their own care. People with bad luck can also see roe deer here, as well as chipmunks, squirrels, hares and so on.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="52" > the marsh wetlands are intertwined with the taiga forest</h1>
The highlands are lined with tall larch forests, while the low-lying areas are intertwined with swampy wetlands. Some water wetlands, but also grow strange larch, due to poor drainage, coupled with only 2-3 months of frost-free period, so that even in the hottest summer, about half a meter below the surface is still permafrost, larch in the low temperature peat moss difficult to grow, some live for hundreds of years, the height of the tree is only 2-3 meters, so it is named "old man forest".
The low-lying areas of the Taiga forest are often intertwined with swampy wetlands. The roots of various moss grasses in the swamp continue to die, rot, and re-grow, and then start again and again, and the peat condenses for many years, forming a grass mound that rises tens of centimeters above the water surface, called "tower head". (Photo by Li Wenliang)
Tatou Swamp is another peculiar type of wetland that daxinganling has given us. The roots of various moss grasses in the swamp continue to die, rot, and re-grow, and then start again, and the peat condenses for many years, forming a grass pier tens of centimeters above the water surface, called "tower head". The oldest tower head can be traced back to 100,000 years ago, there are many kinds of moss grass that constitute the tower head, one of which is called Carexmeyeriana, also known as The Tarantula, is a perennial herb of the sedge family, the leaves are slender, soft and tough, in the past, the Northeast people often used it to make cold and warm insoles, there are "three treasures in the northeast, ginseng, mink, Ula grass" said.
In the Taiga Forest of daxing'anling, the river meanders, and the banks of many sections of the river are densely grown with tall diamond willows. The falling wood in the riverbed will tell you how wild the river water is during the rainy season, and the falling wood continues to pile up to form many upside-down piles, commonly known as "inverted wooden circles (juan)". The damming effect of the inverted wooden circle on the river channel makes the river here constantly diverted, making it form a number of circle rivers and ox yoke lakes, which are not only the unique scenery of Daxing'anling, but also the original true portrayal of the ecosystem of Daxing'anling.
If you walk on a large area of flooded meadows and ponds in summer, you will be enchanted by the beauty in front of you: the water is slow-flowing, clear as a mirror, white clouds swimming in the water, towers scattered, water birds playing. Looking up at the high canopy, the blue sky and white clouds are contrasting, overlooking the inverted wood, the moss, the forest is deep and quiet.
In the Taiga Forest of Daxing'anling, the river meanders and twists, and the damming effect of the "inverted wooden circle" on the river channel everywhere makes the rivers here constantly diverted, forming many circle rivers and oxbow lakes. (Photo by Zhou Haixiang)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="53" > winter, tenacious life painting in the snowfield</h1>
As the leaves of the birch trees begin to yellow, to the Blossoming of Wuhua Mountain, and then to the first snow carrying the conifers of larch, autumn in Taigarin is fleeting, and summer migratory birds and traveling birds begin to fly south when the temperature first drops, and gradually enter a long winter here.
The minimum temperature in winter in the Khanma Reserve can reach -50 ° C, which is extremely cold and enjoyable, and the air immediately condenses into a white mist, and the mist forms white frost on the fibers around the face, and after a while it is disguised as Santa Claus.
After a few snowfalls, Khanma is a world of incomparable cleanliness: the river water is jade condensed, and the thick layer of ice covers the snow, making a natural jade belt; the mountain dancing silver snake and the yan pine disappear under the vast snowfield; the swamp tower head becomes a soft-lined snow bun. The cold silenced the mountains and the forests silent, as if everything had been frozen.
But in the world of ice and snow, there are still tenacious beings playing on the stage, and maybe they are still enjoying it. Look at the river valley, where various animals paint on the snowy fields with their footprints, which provides important clues for investigating the wildlife population of Khan Ma. Their footprints, food marks, urine and feces, and even overnight places have their own characteristics.
The whitened snow rabbit faded away, but its footprints were clearly visible; woodpeckers were pecking diligently at the trunk; the Ulin owl squatted lazily on the trunk, occasionally opening its large eyes with frost on its eyelashes; the sable popped its head out of the snow hole from time to time; and the flower-tailed hazelnut chicken stuck its head in the snow overnight.
On the snow, various animals paint with footprints, which provides important clues for investigating wildlife populations. This is the footprints and feces left by an anxious snow rabbit. (Photo by Zhou Haixiang)
When the snow falls on the fallen wood of different shapes, it also forms a unique and varied winter rhyme, all of which comes from the magic of nature.
Winter is coming, will spring be far away? In The Daxing'anling Taigarin, where the natural ecology is so intact, I hope that everything will be handed over to the hands of nature and will continue to live. (Source Forest and Humanity Magazine Author Wang Min Editor Wang Qiang)