In March, Chebaling, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province.
In the depths of the mountains, the white pheasant dragged its long tail like snow, strolling leisurely, this extraordinary bearing, so that Li Bai couldn't help but praise the poem;
An ocelot suddenly leaps out, staring at the front with round eyes and staring ahead, as if playing with a selfie, and like the black box on the tree of enlightenment.
Under the cover of night, the little wild boar arches a bush regardless of it, is it itchy to rub its mouth, or is it bent on opening the secret treasure?
…………
Chebaling in the morning light. Photo by Guo Xilian
Under the guidance of Shu Zufei, director of the Guangdong Chebaling National Nature Reserve Administration, he logged in to the scientific research and monitoring cloud service platform of the reserve, and took the uploaded images in real time through the infrared camera.
Such an "encounter" is not easy to come by. It all started 10 years ago.
The network of protected areas is fully covered, opening up a different Chebaling
Rewind to 2014. "At that time, we encountered danger from time to time when we patrolled the mountains, including stinging wasps, blood-sucking leeches, and poisonous snakes...... Chebaling, known as the 'treasure house of species and the pearl of Nanling', has many rare wild animals and is also a place where South China tigers haunt, but these large and medium-sized mammals have a keen sense of smell, and they have already slipped away before anyone approached. We often see animal footprints, feeding marks, and fresh feces, but it's hard to see the 'deities', let alone take pictures of them. Speaking of the situation 10 years ago, Shu Zufei still remembers it vividly.
That year, Shu Zufei rotated to the scientific research and education department of the Bureau, and he went to the warehouse to see what equipment was available, and he accidentally turned over 40 infrared cameras. He wanted to install an infrared camera on the mountain, and as soon as the warm-blooded animal passed through the sensing area, it would trigger an automatic photo.
Just do it. He first installed a few infrared cameras in the mountain behind the Chebaling Natural History Museum, and then waited quietly. One day, two days, three days...... Wild boars suddenly appeared in the camera, as well as white pheasants. This made Shu Zufei very excited. So, he organized his colleagues to lay infrared cameras along an altitude gradient from 330 meters to 1256 meters, with every 100 meters of altitude increase. In addition, installations are carried out on some animal trails, especially in rocky areas at high altitudes.
In 2016, an infrared camera mounted on a tree captured the Chinese serow, a national key protected animal, and the video was broadcast by CCTV News Live Room. "People all over the country know that there is still a Chinese serow in Chebaling, and this is the first time it has been photographed in a high-altitude rocky area. Speaking of this, Shu Zufei's eyes still flashed with excitement.
In this way, they had their first "meeting" with Che Baling's familiar and unfamiliar animal friends. However, they did not stop there – the deployment of infrared cameras along the coastal gradient is relatively concentrated, and there are still many blank areas in the protected area. How to fully understand what animals are in the area, where they are distributed, and what are their activities? With these questions, they knocked on the door of the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and thus opened a different Chebaling.
Under the guidance of the expert team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, they set up 80 kilometers of grids throughout the reserve, and 20 kilometers of grids around the area, and through comparative monitoring of 100 grids, they can not only understand the status of animal and plant background resources, but also study the differences between species and their activities inside and outside the reserve. Following this idea, they divided the personnel into five groups, set up 100 infrared cameras separately, and replaced the batteries and memory cards every three or four months. However, the grid is full of mountains and rugged roads, and it takes six or seven days to get a memory card. Moreover, in case the infrared camera is damaged, the data is lost. When Shu Zufei was worried, he heard that there was a new 700 MHz real-time transmission technology in the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, so he immediately went to study. After returning, they prepared to build four 700 MHz base stations, covering the entire Chebaling Conservation Area, so that every grid has a signal. In addition, 100 infrared cameras with antennas were purchased. In this way, photos and videos can be transferred to the computer in real time.
In 2019, among the national nature reserves, Chebaling took the lead in achieving full coverage of the entire territory.
"Sky and ground" integrated monitoring to achieve a smarter "encounter"
With the real-time transmission of infrared cameras, tens of thousands of images are obtained each time, and a new problem arises – the Authority has limited manpower, and it is time-consuming and laborious to identify and analyze a large number of images one by one. They aim at "cloud services" to create a "visible and manageable" smart protection area, so that people can have a smarter "encounter" with Chebaling. For this goal, Shu Zufei came to the Chinese Academy of Sciences again. This time, he found the Computer Network Information Center.
Through in-depth cooperation with the center, in 2018, the "Guangdong Chebaling National Nature Reserve Scientific Research and Monitoring Cloud Service Platform" was launched - infrared camera image data can be transmitted to the "cloud" end in 1 minute, in addition to storage management, this "cloud" can also carry out intelligent species identification and association analysis, and the accuracy is much higher than that of manual work. At present, the recognition rate of white pheasants has reached 99%.
Chebaling National Nature Reserve scientific research and monitoring cloud service platform.
Walking to the Yuanyang Creek Negative Ion Trail, popular science commentator Qiu Shaocong excitedly talked about its name - on March 14, 2020, the infrared camera photographed a pair of mandarin ducks. More than 2 months later, the mother of the mandarin duck was photographed walking with her three babies. Prior to this, mandarin ducks were thought to only winter in Guangdong and not breed here.
"In 2021, we published in the Journal of Zoology a new record for mandarin ducks breeding in Guangdong, which is also a new record for the southernmost part of the mainland. Speaking of this new discovery, Song Xiangjin, deputy director of the Administration Bureau and senior engineer, couldn't help but be overjoyed, "Through the grid of infrared cameras and the intelligent monitoring cloud platform, we also discovered for the first time in the Chebaling Nature Reserve small civet, yellow-bellied horned pheasant and other national key protected species, and photographed the globally endangered Hainan eagle ......"
In addition to the warm-blooded animals living on the ground, how do they "meet" with other animals? They have studied different methods, such as bird watching, recording bird songs, and then importing manually obtained monitoring data into cloud service platforms, and insects, such as bees, using artificial nest tubes made of reeds for monitoring, and monitoring butterflies in the form of sweeping nets.
To this end, they set up a 20-hectare forest plot, where there is a typical evergreen broad-leaved forest in the transition zone from the southern subtropical to the central subtropics, and the staff tags, locate, measure the diameter at breast height, identify the species, and re-examine them every five years, and more than 100,000 individual plants were recorded in the first survey.
Overlooking the Chebaling Forest.
In addition, they are working with the Aerospace Information Innovation Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to monitor the habitat quality of the reserve through satellite remote sensing, drones and other scientific and technological means, focusing on changes in land use and human activities. In 2008, when ice and snow disasters occurred in the south, many large trees were broken at the waist, and the reserve lost 210,000 cubic meters of standing trees. Satellite remote sensing monitoring found that by 2017, the vegetation had returned to its pre-disaster appearance.
From infrared cameras to satellite remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other scientific and technological means, from animals, plants to hydrology, meteorology, soil and other ecological and environmental factors of comprehensive monitoring, through the integration of multi-source heterogeneous data resources, online intelligent analysis and visual presentation, Chebaling Nature Reserve has built an integrated scientific research and monitoring system of "sky and ground". At present, the infrared camera has collected more than 1 million valid photos and videos. Whether it is mammals, birds, insects, plants, or habitats, each has a map, and is integrated and integrated into a "resource map".
In order to improve the level of scientific research and monitoring, the Authority has also compiled the "Ten-Year Plan for Scientific Research and Monitoring in Chebaling Nature Reserve (2019-2028)". At the same time, it has carried out national and international academic exchanges, published a number of scientific research achievements and papers, and invited experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University and other scientific research institutions to form the Academic Committee of Ecological Monitoring of Chebaling Nature Reserve to provide scientific and technological support for building a first-class smart nature reserve.
In 2023, Chebaling was rated as a demonstration reserve for intelligent wildlife monitoring in China Biosphere Reserve.
Defend the green waters and green mountains together, and intelligently create "gold and silver mountains"
"Why does the golden-spotted beaked butterfly appear in Chebaling? Through investigation, we found that there is a host plant for its survival, the golden leaf smile. Animals and plants are interdependent, as are humans and animals, and the protection of animals and plants and their habitats is to protect the biosphere in which man and nature coexist in harmony. Zhang Yingming, head of the scientific research and education department of the Administration Bureau and senior forestry engineer, often goes to the village, and the villagers are old acquaintances with him.
The harmonious coexistence of man and nature, the construction of the reserve and the coordinated development of the community are the traditions that have been continued by Chebaling for more than 40 years. From the first director Rao Jiteng to the current "head" Shu Zufei, they have always adhered to this tradition, not relocating a single original resident, but absorbing them to jointly protect the lucid waters and lush mountains, and build "gold and silver mountains" with wisdom.
In recent years, the Bureau has also explored the community co-management model of resource management and protection and the community participation model of scientific research and monitoring field data collection in combination with the scientific research work of the reserve.
In Chebaling Village, the reporter met Feng Jun, a "post-90s" guy, who is the new generation of the Authority, who gave up the prosperity of Shenzhen in 2022 and resolutely walked into the mountains to take on the work of community co-construction. "The bureau has provided villagers with a variety of positions such as forest protection, scientific research, and science popularization. He patted Qiu Shaocong beside him and said, "Ah Cong is from this village, and he came back from college and became an excellent science popularizer." ”
Walking into Xiba Village, Chi Bingfang came out from afar, and he and his father were both community rangers. Chi Bingfang proudly told reporters that through training and learning, many people in the village have become masters of field sampling.
"Every year, more than 2,000 people participate in the scientific research and monitoring of the reserve, field data collection, etc., and the villagers are truly integrated into the development of the reserve while increasing their income. In addition, all 6,332 hectares of ecological public welfare forests in the reserve have been designated as national ecological public welfare forests, and the compensation standard has been increased year by year, with 807 households benefiting in 2022, with a total amount of 4.126 million yuan...... "When it comes to community development, Feng Jun has an account in his heart, and he talks endlessly, "We also invite experts to enter the community to provide technical guidance for Chinese bee breeding and planting of Dendrobium sinensis, citrus, edible fungi and other understory economic and industrial projects." Recently, Shu Zufei just took the villagers to visit the neighboring county to learn about their planting and sales patterns, and to develop special ecological products according to local conditions. ”
On the cloud service platform, the reporter saw a statistical chart: from 1987 to 2020, the GEP (Gross Ecosystem Product) of Chebaling Nature Reserve increased year after year, from more than 190 million yuan to nearly 220 million yuan. Feng Jun also told reporters that in the past five years, the per capita net income of residents in the reserve has increased by more than 40%.
In order to promote the continuous transformation of ecological and scientific research advantages into economic and development advantages, the Authority has also formulated the "Community Sustainable Development Plan for Chebaling World Biosphere Reserve (2024-2028)". "We will take planning as the guide, scientific and technological innovation and intelligent management as a means to improve the quality of production and life of villagers in the surrounding communities, create a 'golden business card' for green and common prosperity, and let people share the achievements of green and beautiful Guangdong's ecological construction. When it comes to the future of the community, Shu Zufei speaks firmly.
At this time, the flowers of Chebaling are blooming one after another, and the birds and insects are singing one after another, which is pleasant to the ear...... In the midst of it, I can't help but think of a quote by the American writer Emerson: "We are conceived in nature, surrounded by the torrent of life, and nature invites us with its power to act accordingly." ”
Chebaling has sent out an invitation with the song of birds and flowers, and the people here will also use love and wisdom to create more "encounters" that do not disturb each other and coexist in harmony.
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Source: China Natural Resources News
Reporter: Wang Yan
Text editors: Wang Zhongjian, Jin Chang
New Media Editor: Qu Bingjie (Trainee)
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