Anqing Riverside Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve

Anqing Riverside Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve

The Anqing Riverside Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve is a provincial-level nature reserve.

Anhui Anqing Riverside Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve

I. General Overview

The Anqing Riverside Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve was adjusted and renamed by the People’s Government of Anhui Province on December 6, 2013, with an area of 50,332 hectares. Prior to the adjustment, the reserve covered 120,000 hectares and was approved for establishment on December 11, 1995, by the People’s Government of Anhui Province under the name “Anhui Anqing Riverside Waterfowl Nature Reserve.”

The Anqing Riverside Wetland Nature Reserve is located in southwestern Anhui, on the northern bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It borders the Yangtze River to the south and leans against the Dabie Mountains to the north. The reserve consists of seven lakes: Bohu Lake, Wuchang Lake, Caizi Lake, Pogang Lake, Baidang Lake, Fengsha Lake, and Chenyao Lake, covering a total area of 50,332 hectares.

II. Flora and Fauna Resources

(1) Animals

1. Benthic Animals

A total of 86 species of benthic animals have been recorded in the Anqing lakeside wetlands, belonging to 14 orders, 31 families, and 57 genera. These include 44 species of mollusks, 11 species of annelids, and 31 species of arthropods.

2. Fish

A total of 91 fish species have been recorded in the Anqing lakeside wetlands, belonging to 10 orders, 20 families, and 63 genera.

3. Birds

There are 166 bird species in the Anqing lakeside wetlands, including 86 waterbird species, accounting for 52.1% of the total bird species. Among the 166 bird species, 20 are under national key protection. This includes 3 species under National Class I protection and 17 species under National Class II protection.

4. Amphibians and Reptiles

The Anqing lakeside wetlands are home to 12 amphibian species belonging to 2 orders and 8 families, accounting for about 31.6% of the amphibian species in Anhui Province. There are also 20 reptile species, accounting for about 30% of the reptile species in the province. Of the 32 amphibian and reptile species found in the area, 14 are widely distributed species and 18 are Oriental realm species, with no Palearctic species present. The dominant fauna is of the Oriental realm, indicating that the area belongs to the Oriental zoogeographic region in terms of amphibian and reptile faunal composition.

There are 2 species under National Class II protection, mainly the tiger frog and the Chinese giant salamander. The Chinese giant salamander is occasionally seen in the Yangtze River and Wanhe River, likely brought in by floods from mountainous areas, and is not part of its normal distribution. There are 9 species under Provincial Class II protection: the Asiatic toad, the black-spotted frog, the grass frog, the yellow-spotted slider, the Chinese pond turtle, the king ratsnake, the many-banded krait, the Chinese rat snake, and the cobra. The Asiatic toad and the black-spotted frog are widely distributed and can be found in low mountain hills, fields, and shallow lake shores.

5. Mammals

A total of 26 mammal species have been recorded in the Anqing lakeside wetlands, belonging to 7 orders and 13 families, accounting for 40% of the mammal species in Anhui Province. Among them, the Mustelidae and Muridae families each account for over 10% of the total species, making them relatively diverse groups. Of the 26 mammal species, 4 are under National Class II key protection: the Chinese pangolin, the Yangtze finless porpoise, the Eurasian otter, and the Reeves’s muntjac. One species, the masked palm civet, is under Provincial Class I protection.

Mammals are higher vertebrates with strong environmental adaptability and a wide distribution range. In the Anqing lakeside wetlands, they are found in wetland grasslands, shrub forests, farmland, and residential areas. Based on ecological types, they can be roughly divided into four categories: wetland mammals, forest mammals, farmland mammals, and residential area mammals.

6. Zooplankton

There are 119 known species of zooplankton in the Anqing Riverside Wetland Nature Reserve, belonging to 13 orders, 31 families, and 48 genera. This accounts for 48.2% of the 247 known zooplankton species in Anhui Province and 16.5% of the 720 species in inland waters across China. These include 17 species of Protozoa (8 orders, 13 families, 15 genera), 24 species of Rotifera (1 order, 9 families, 19 genera), and 16 species of Crustacea (4 orders, 9 families, 14 genera).

The abundance and biomass of zooplankton vary significantly among the lakes in the Anqing lakeside wetlands. Caizi Lake has the highest levels, while Bohu Lake has the lowest. In terms of biomass, Bohu Lake has the highest, with other lakes slightly lower.

(2) Plants The Anqing Riverside Wetland Nature Reserve has 459 species of vascular plants, belonging to 97 families and 299 genera. These include 9 species of ferns (9 families, 9 genera), 8 species of gymnosperms (3 families, 6 genera), and 442 species of angiosperms (85 families, 284 genera). Among the 459 vascular plant species, 221 are wetland plants, comprising 157 hygrophytes, 24 emergent plants, 10 floating-leaved rooted plants, 11 floating plants, and 19 submerged plants. These plants belong to 53 families and 130 genera, including 6 species of ferns (6 families, 6 genera), 94 species of monocotyledons (15 families, 54 genera), and 121 species of dicotyledons (32 families, 70 genera). The wetland vegetation in the lakes can be divided into 48 plant communities, with 18 communities in the hygrophyte and emergent vegetation zones, where wild rice and lotus communities are the most widespread. The floating-leaved and submerged vegetation zones include 30 communities, with the most common being those of the small-fruited water chestnut, water shield, Vallisneria, and mixed Vallisneria and water shield communities.

The Anqing Riverside Wetland Nature Reserve has 1 species under National Class I protection and 7 species under National Class II protection. The dawn redwood is a National Class I key protected wild plant, an ancient relict species sporadically planted along embankments without forming large-scale timber forests. Water fern, Chinese needlegrass, Russian watermilfoil, Trapa incisa, wild soybean, camphor tree, and lotus are National Class II protected plants, distributed across lakes such as Bohu Lake, Wuchang Lake, Pogang Lake, and Caizi Lake.

III. Hydrology and Climate

The Anqing Riverside Wetland Nature Reserve is located in the northern subtropical humid climate zone. The climate is characterized by distinct seasons, abundant sunlight, mild temperatures, moderate rainfall, long frost-free periods, and short cold seasons. Differences are significant between seasons. The annual average temperature ranges from 16.5°C to 16.6°C. The annual average rainfall in the reserve is between 1,291.3 mm and 1,322.4 mm, with 130 to 150 rainy days per year. Rainfall distribution is uneven across seasons: spring accounts for 35.8%, summer for 39.6%, autumn for 13.8%, and winter for 10.8% of the annual total. Especially from mid-June to mid-July, there is a continuous rainy period known as the “plum rain” season, which is a climatic feature of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Overall, the climate conditions are relatively superior with abundant climate resources, conducive to the habitat and reproduction of various wild animals and plants. However, due to its location at mid-low latitudes, the weather patterns are changeable, with frequent activities and interactions between cold and warm air masses, large interannual variations in precipitation, and complex terrain, often leading to droughts, floods, wind disasters, and hailstorms.