Let’s take a look at the diverse functions of plateau wetlands!

Wetland is one of the three major ecosystems on Earth, known as the "Kidney of the Earth", and is an important strategic resource and scarce resource to ensure national ecological security and sustainable economic and social development. Plateau wetlands with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters and a relative height of more than 500 meters can not only provide a variety of resources for human production and life, but also play an important role in climate regulation, carbon storage and fixation, and biodiversity protection.

There are many types of plateau wetlands, with a wide distribution area, concentrated in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and Inner Mongolia Plateau. The main types are lake wetlands, river wetlands, swamp wetlands and artificial wetlands. Plateau wetlands have irreplaceable value in protecting ecosystems.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is home to the world's highest number of wetlands, which are one of the natural ecosystems with the richest biodiversity and the highest productivity per unit area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. At the same time, the wetlands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are also the source of many famous rivers. The Sanjiangyuan wetlands alone provide 25%, 45% and 15% of the water for the Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River respectively.

Laru Wetland

The Laru Wetland, known as the "Lungs of Lhasa", has a protected area of ​​more than 12 square kilometers. It not only plays an important role in conserving water resources, replenishing oxygen, and absorbing carbon dioxide, but is also a rare species gene bank in the urban areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Another example is the Ruoergai Wetland, which is known as a national nature reserve. It has a complete ecosystem and is one of the three major wetlands in my country. It is listed as an "internationally important wetland". Since 30% of the water in the upper reaches of the Yellow River comes from the Ruoergai Wetland, it is also known as the "Yellow River Reservoir", which is responsible for the ecological security of the Yellow River Basin.

Zoige Wetland

In addition, the Zoige Wetland is also known as the "Hometown of Black-necked Cranes". Black-necked cranes are the only cranes that grow and reproduce on the plateau. According to the population survey of black-necked cranes in March 2022, there are more than 17,000 black-necked cranes in the country, and more than 2,000 of them are in Zoige. At the same time, the Zoige Wetland is also a beautiful home for rare animals such as swans and Tibetan gazelles. The Huahu Lake is vast, the water and the sky are connected, and flocks of water birds are playing in the lake, and the beauty of ecology is blooming here.

In order to protect biodiversity and the integrity of the ecosystem, and enable plateau wetlands to better play an important role in responding to climate change and stabilizing the global climate, we must actively establish awareness of comprehensive protection of plateau wetlands and further implement it into practical actions.

Review expert: Gao Zhiling, Professor of College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University

China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Xinhuanet

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