Lower Yangtze



ID


766

Author(s)


J. Hales


Countries


China
China
China
China

Major Habitat Type


Temperate floodplain rivers and wetlands

Drainages flowing into


East China Sea


Main rivers to other water bodies


Rivers in the ecoregion include the Yangtze (Chang Jiang),Yuan, Xi, Xiang, Han, Gan, Huai, and Qiantang rivers.  There is also an extensive area of floodplains in the Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and Hunan Provinces, including large lakes like the Dongting, Boyang, Chao, Tai, Hongze, Wuhan lakes, and Gaoyou.



Description

Boundaries

This ecoregion encompsses the lower Yangtze (Chang Jiang) and adjacent coastal basins. The western border lies roughly east of the Yangtze confluence with the Qing River. It includes the Yuan, Xi, Xiang, Gan, Huai, and Qiantang rivers.

Terrestrial habitats

This ecoregion encompasses the Changjiang Plain evergreen forests. Other terrestrial ecoregions that lie partly in this ecoregion include the Huang He Plain mixed forests, Qin Ling Mountains deciduous forests, Daba Mountains evergreen forests, Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests, and Jian Nan subtropical evergreen forests (Wikramanayake et al. 2002).

Description of endemic fishes

The ecoregion contains around 30 recorded endemic species, including species in the genera Pseudobagrus, Ctenogobius, and Leptobotia.

Justification for delineation

For Southeast Asia, delineations were determined using a bottom-up approach that employed both published and unpublished field data and expert assessment (Abell et al. 2008). The ecoregion is noted for its extensive floodplains. Dongting Lake and the Wuhan lakes are noted for their exceptional biodiversity interest (Kottelat & Whitten 1996). Information from Li (1981) was used to help delineate ecoregions of the Yangtze basin.


References

  • Abell, Robin,M.L. Thieme,C. Revenga,M. Bryer,M. Kottelat,N. Bogutskaya,B. Coad,N. Mandrak,S.C. Balderas,W. Bussing,M.L.J. Stiassny,P. Skelton,G.R. Allen,P. Unmack,A. Naseka,R. Ng,N. Sindorf,J. Robertson,E. Armijo,J.V. Higgins,T.J. Heibel,E. Wikramanayake, (2008). "Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Biogeographic Units for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation" BioScience 58 (5) pp. 403-414.
  • Li, Sizhong (1981). "Studies on zoogeographical divisions for fresh water fishes of China" Beijing, China: Science Press.
  • Wikramanayake, Eric,Dinerstein, Eric,Loucks, C.,Olson, D.M.,Morrison, J.,Lamoreux, J. L.,McKnight, M.;Hedao, P. (2002). "Terrestrial ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: A conservation assessment" Washington, DC: Island Press.
  • IUCN (2012) \IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2\ "<"www.iucnredlist.org">" (21 May 2013)