Beijing, with its rich historical and cultural resources, is also one of the most biodiverse metropolises in the world and one of the capitals with the richest bird species in the world.
Biodiversity refers to the diversification of organisms, which is the sum of all animals, plants, microorganisms and the ecological environment on which they depend. The protection of biodiversity is of great significance for improving the quality and stability of regional ecosystems and maintaining ecological security.
Starting in 2020, the Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment will organize a city-wide biodiversity survey, which is the first time in Beijing that this kind of city-wide and multi-taxa biodiversity survey is carried out.
This is a "census" of biodiversity in Beijing.
Biodiversity surveys need to go through a complete natural year, and it is expected that it will take 3 to 5 years to initially find out the background of biodiversity in Beijing and gradually integrate biodiversity monitoring into routine ecological monitoring. The survey mainly relies on artificial labor, and the points mainly select important ecological spaces such as nature reserves, woodlands, natural parks, primary forests, and wetlands.
The survey focuses on finding out the "home base" of Beijing's biodiversity, which is regarded as the "census" of Beijing's biodiversity. Cao Zhiping, director of the Natural Ecology and Conservation Department of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, told reporters that in 2020, the city will be divided into 212 grids to conduct a comprehensive survey of the diversity of some grid ecosystems and the diversity of mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, insects, algae and other species. 82 natural and semi-natural ecosystem communities were recorded in the field, with a total of 5086 species.
On this basis, Beijing has formulated a biodiversity survey plan from 2021 to 2025, which plans to achieve full coverage of the survey grid during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and dynamically find out the background of the city's biodiversity.
The ecological environment index has increased for 6 consecutive years
The number of birds increased by 79 in 10 years
During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the city's ecological environment status index (EI) climbed year after year, from 64.2 in 2015 to 70.2 in 2020, an increase of 9.3%, achieving a continuous improvement in 6 years. The area of Beijing accounts for about 0.17% of the country's land area, and the number of plant species accounts for about 8% of the total number of the country. At present, the proportion of birds with accurate records in Beijing accounts for more than one-third of the number of bird species in the country, which is unique among northern cities in China. These are all microcosm of Beijing's biodiversity.
Why are beijing's biological species so abundant? According to reports, Beijing's background conditions are very good, Beijing north pillow Yanshan Mountain, west leaning on Taihang, surrounded by mountains, Taihang Mountain and Yanshan Mountain encircled the west and north ring mountains, east and south to the sea semi-encircled terrain, known as the bay-like "Beijing Bay" terrain, in the same latitude area, the terrain conditions are relatively good.
At the same time, Beijing's altitude difference is more than 2000 meters, the terrain is complex, there are many types of landforms such as zhongshan, low mountains, hills, terraces and plains, as well as the five major water systems of Yongding River, Chaobai River, North Canal, Ji Canal and Daqing River, there are ecosystem types such as forests, shrubs, grasses, meadows, wetlands, etc., with diverse habitat types, which have a pivotal position in the ecological pattern of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and are one of the most biodiverse metropolises in the world.
The important ecological space in Beijing is mainly distributed in the "two mountains and two rivers" (Yanshan, TaihangShan; Yongding River Basin, Chaobai River Basin), which is also the demarcation area of the ecological protection redline of Beijing approved by the State Council, which has bred rich and unique biodiversity, provided the natural material foundation of the historical origin of Beijing City, and provided an important ecological substrate and ecological barrier for the city.
There is also a special place, there are eight bird migration corridors in the world, and Beijing is located in the "East Asia-Australasia" migratory bird migration area, which makes Beijing one of the most bird-rich capitals in the world. At present, the proportion of birds with accurate records in Beijing accounts for more than one-third of the number of bird species in the country, which is unique among northern cities in China. According to the latest records, Beijing has recorded 503 bird species, and the number of bird species has increased by 79 species in the past decade.
River ecological restoration
The blackfin has made its home in several water systems
In recent years, Beijing's ecological environment has continued to improve, and more animals, plants and birds have chosen to settle in Beijing. The reporter learned that in the first stage of the biodiversity survey, Beijing found many "new friends" and also found some "old friends" who expanded their living areas.
After the background survey work in 2020, Beijing has now recorded 82 natural and semi-natural ecosystem communities, with a total of 5086 species of various species; 70 new record species in Beijing have been discovered, including 40 species of bryophytes, 3 species of vascular plants, 16 species of insects, and 11 species of macromygi; 12 new species of Chinese new record species, including 11 species of macrofunges and 1 species of insects; and a number of representative indicative species.
Native to the "Beijinger" water buttercup is a first-class protected plant in Beijing, it has high requirements for water quality, only grows in clear, flowing water bodies, where it is, indicating that the water quality is very good. Nowadays, the figure of buttercup has been found in Haidian, Yanqing, Changping, Huairou and Miyun.
Blackfin carp is a very beautiful small fish, is a second-class protected aquatic wildlife in Beijing, likes to live in relatively clean small rivers, mostly in the middle and lower layers of the water body. In recent years, the river ecological environment in Beijing has been continuously improved, blackfin fish can make a home in urban rivers, and Beijing's Haidian, Fangshan, Miyun, Huairou and other water systems have a "home" for blackfin fish.
Blackfin mackerel (female) Zhang Min courtesy of the picture
Blackfin mackerel (male) Zhang Min courtesy of the image
"In layman's terms, these species are indicators of one or more of the local environmental qualities." Liu Chunlan, vice president of the Beijing Academy of Environmental Protection Sciences, introduced that buttercup and blackfin are indicator species recognized by experts for good water quality. Last year's survey showed to a certain extent that the treatment and ecological restoration of urban rivers have achieved certain results.
Cities increase the area of green space
Fireflies also flew into the city
The reporter learned that Beijing also found fireflies that are sensitive to air, water, vegetation and light conditions in urban parks in Dongcheng, Haidian, Shijingshan, Daxing and other places, which to a certain extent indicates the improvement of the quality of the ecological environment in the urban area. Like a firefly yellow-veined firefly more common in Beijing, they like to live in places with lush vegetation, clean water and fresh air, and are very sensitive to environmental changes, so they are often used as indicator organisms for an excellent ecological environment. Liu Chunlan admitted that in the past period of time, fireflies have decreased around the public, "This investigation is very surprising. ”
Yellow-veined winged fireflies in the cross-tail (photo courtesy of Zhang Xu)
In addition, animals such as the Northeast hedgehog and weasels have been found in the central urban area, and birds of prey such as the Japanese pine sparrowhawk and the red-footed falcon have also been found, which reflects that in recent years, the central urban area has increased the urban green area in a variety of ways, providing a richer habitat for wild animals.
At the same time, more forest birds such as white-headed quails and woodpeckers have been found in the plain area, and amphibians and reptiles such as black-spotted side-fold frogs, Chinese forest frogs and Chifeng golden snakes have also been found, as well as fish such as horsefish and blackfin carp, indicating that in recent years, through afforestation and afforestation of millions of mu, the construction of country parks and the restoration of rivers and lakes and wetlands, the green ecological space has been expanded and the biodiversity has become richer.
Strengthen conservation in ecological conservation areas
Ocelots appear in mountain plains
In recent years, the ecological conservation area is a biodiversity-rich area in Beijing, and in recent years, the areas with the best ecosystem quality in Beijing have been effectively protected by adhering to ecological conservation, strengthening the construction of nature reserves, habitat protection, and water ecological restoration. The survey found threatened species such as the blue-headed diving duck, the brown horse chicken, the large-flowered orchid, and the rotunda shellfish, as well as the ocelot, the spiny horn snake spring fly, the purple lime and other wild animals and plants under national key protection, as well as the wild boar, soft jujube kiwifruit, eleuthero and other key protected wild animals and plants in Beijing.
As the only surviving wild cat in Beijing, the ocelot plays a top-down regulatory role in the local ecosystem. In last year's survey, in Mentougou and Yanqing districts alone, staff observed the distribution of more than 140 ocelots. With the improvement of the ecological environment, ocelots have appeared in the mountainous areas of Beijing and some plains.
In addition, the total area of wetlands in Beijing has reached 58,700 hectares, accounting for about 3.6% of the total area of the city. The number of birds is also increasing, and the recovery in the number of swifts in Beijing alone indicates the overall improvement of the ecological environment quality in Beijing. Swift, also known as Lou Yan, is a famous summer migratory bird in Beijing, a veritable legless bird that originally lived under the eaves of Beijing's tall ancient city building. Nowadays, swifts can also be seen in many bridges, heating pipes and other places, which also means that swifts are becoming more and more adapted to urban life.
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Do a good job of "addition" to expand the capacity of the environment
The steady improvement of the ecological environment has benefited from the efforts of all parties and the simultaneous adoption of multiple measures. In recent years, the city has also insisted on carrying out special actions to promote the promotion of relief and rectification, while resolutely fighting the battle against pollution, doing a good job in the "subtraction" of non-capital functions and pollution reduction, coordinating the management of the grass and sand system of landscapes, forests, lakes, and lakes, promoting the construction of the ecological environment, vigorously implementing the south-to-north water diversion project, the afforestation project of one million mu in the plain area and other greening projects, and doing a good job in expanding the "addition" of environmental capacity.
Relying on the good ecological environment quality and rich biodiversity, the ecological conservation area gives full play to its ecological advantages, continuously explores the transformation path of the "two mountains", and forms a number of replicable and generalizable "two mountains" transformation models to promote ecological enrichment and green development.
Yanqing District takes the opportunity of preparing for the Winter Olympic Games and hosting the World Horticultural Games to develop green industries such as ice and snow sports, tourism and leisure. Mentougou District ended the history of coal mining for thousands of years, carried out ecological governance of Yongding River, and created the brand of "Green Water and Green Mountains Mentougou". Miyun District used the strength of the whole district to guard "a basin of clean water" for the capital, forming "two mountains" models such as "Bee Sheng Honey Uniform" and "Gubei Water Town". Relying on the good ecological environment, Huairou District has built the "Huairou Science City", built the "International Capital", created the "Chinese Film Capital", and "Scientific and Technological Innovation + Conference Leisure + Film and Television Culture" troika to promote the "Two Mountains" theory to take root.
Source Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Luo Qianwen
Edited by Wang Wenmiao
Process Editor Liu Weili