A 5-year integrated biological research project confirms that
Hainan
Province has the most biological resources in China, with its
number of species and amount of animals and plants per unit area of
land far more than that of other provinces.
Beginning in 1997, the Hainan Provincial Forestry Administration
organized experts from the Beijing Zoological Institute, the South
China Botanical Institute, the
Zhongshan University and Hainan University to make an
integrated inspection of Hainan's biological resources.
According to statistics from the Hainan Provincial Forestry
Administration as compiled from the study, the Hainan is now home
to 3,200 species of terrestrial animals, as well as 560 species of
amphibians, reptiles, birds, and beasts.
The biological diversity in Hainan is reflected not only in
abundant species, but also in the density of their biological
distribution, said Wang Chundong, chief of the Hainan Provincial
Wildlife Protection Station. For instance, the 15,000-hectare
(37,066-acre) Nature Reserve of Wuzhishan Mountain, located in
central Hainan, has more than 2,000 species of wild animals and
plants, and the species of freshwater fish alone amount to some
70.
In
addition, Hainan has the most unique species of living things among
all the provinces. As of the present time, 13 species of amphibians
and reptiles peculiar to Hainan Province have been found in the
province.
(南方日報
[Nanfang Daily], translated by Zhang Tingting for china.org.cn May
16, 2002)