Fantastic Species in Yunnan: The Beauty of Biodiversity
Biodiversity conservation is of great significance to the construction of ecological civilization, which is related to the future of human well-being. It is very meaningful and very interesting to know and understand the "partners" who live in the same home as us.
Yunnan is the province with the richest biodiversity in China, one of the 34 most abundant and threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world, and enjoys the reputation of "plant kingdom", "animal kingdom" and "species gene bank". The book contains more than 60 beautiful ecological photographs taken in Yunnan, introducing 60 species endemic or distinctive in Yunnan Province, some of which were published for the first time. Although they are only a drop in the ocean of rich species in Yunnan, the vivid life behind the still photos can already illustrate the magic of nature, the respectability of life, and the beauty of biodiversity.
Following this book, readers will walk together into the snow-capped mountains, plateaus, valleys, rainforests and wetlands south of the clouds, deep into this vibrant, biologically diverse land: here fungi coexist with wonderful orchids, bumblebees assist plant pollination on the top of inaccessible snowy mountains, and creatures either mimic or camouflage, evolving a unique wisdom of survival. Here, every life strives to bloom and become an indispensable member of the ecological balance, together forming a vibrant world.
The book is divided into six major sections, namely "fungi/lichen", "plant", "mammal", "amphibian/reptile", and "insect/spider", which introduces species unique to or very characteristic in Yunnan Province, including green cup fungus, red and yellow amanita fungus, golden brush, green lichen small lotus leaf, ta huang, bract snow lotus, jellyfish snow rabbit, cotton ginseng, peach seven, green velvet artemisia, canopy wood, parasitic flowers, Yunnan orchid, shield orchid, green peacock, double-horned hornbill, large golden-backed woodpecker, yellow reed flounder, snake carving, Gongshan antelope, Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey, Asian elephant, 60 rare species of creatures, such as the weasel, the ocelot, the emerald dragon lizard, the red wart salamander, the brown-folded tree frog, the blue-breasted wood bee, the orchid mantis, the bow longthorn spider, the black lily-winged dragonfly, the red starfish, the blue radiation ruler moth, the white-sleeved arrow ring butterfly, the longan chicken, the Nicobar bowback ant, etc., also record their survival wisdom, struggle and cuteness, showing the vivid beauty of Yunnan's natural ecology and biodiversity.
Nearly 40 ecological photographers and scholars from the China Photographers Association, the Yunnan Photographers Association, the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other institutions have gone deep into the ancient land of Yunnan, from the top of the snow-capped mountains at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters to the magical secrets of tropical rainforests; from rocky and barren mountains to reed wetlands; from dry and hot river valleys to the ice edge belt of Liushitan... They record the diverse species of Yunnan, and they also record the rich habitats in which these species live – these precious records will become a testament to the biodiversity of the earth.
"Is there a plant in the world without chlorophyll?" "Can woodpeckers get concussions?" "What's the difference between dragonflies, dragonflies, and cockroaches?" "Asian elephants stink, vegetarian, high intelligence"... This book presents rigorous science in a way that everyone likes to hear, so that readers can understand the survival wisdom and strategies of different organisms in different environments in a relaxed and interesting knowledge, which is the charm of biodiversity.
The Convention on Biological Diversity divides biodiversity into three levels: genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity, and the organisms and habitats introduced in this book can make people deeply feel the beauty of biodiversity in Yunnan.
This book is composed of Han Lianxian, secretary general of the Wildlife Conservation Association of Yunnan Province and zoologist, Liu Guangyu, winner of the "Daystar" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Network Science Popularization Alliance and a popular science writer, Wang Lisong, researcher and lichen biologist of the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shi Jun, ph.D. of the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and member of the Science Communication Working Committee of the Botanical Society of China, as the scientific advisory team. Scholars from Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Purple Mountain Entomological Museum, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Southwest Forestry University and other scholars have reviewed and guided the reading of popular science articles.