Tianqiao Mountain Nature Reserve

Tianqiao Mountain Nature Reserve

Tianqiao Mountain Nature Reserve is a provincial-level nature reserve.

The Luzhi Tianqiao Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve was established in 1998 when the People's Government of Luzhi County officially approved the area as a county-level nature reserve through the "Notice on the Establishment of the Tianqiao Mountain Nature Reserve in Luzhi County" (Luzheng Fa [1998] No. 62). In March 2011, the People's Government of Hunan Province formally approved the establishment of the Hunan Tianqiao Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve via document Xiang Zheng Han ([2011] No. 59).

The Hunan Tianqiao Mountain Nature Reserve is located in Luzhi County within the You-Ma Basin, situated in the transitional zone between the Wuling Mountains and the Xuefeng Mountains on the eastern edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, along the middle reaches of the Yuan River in the southeastern part of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Its coordinates span 110°2′2″ to 110°10′38″ east longitude and 28°14′38″ to 28°27′19″ north latitude. It borders Guzhang County to the north, neighbors Yuanling County to the east, adjoins Xixi Town and Wuxi Town of the same county to the south, and connects with Liangjiatan Township and Bashiping Township of the same county to the west. The reserve stretches 14.0 km from east to west and 23.6 km from north to south, covering a total area of 13,878.0 hectares.

The reserve features dense forests and a beautiful environment, with a forest coverage rate of 86.5%. The purple soil, formed from the weathering of purple sandy shale, is highly representative not only in Hunan Province but also in central and southern China. The area contains large expanses of mixed coniferous and broadleaf forests and nearly pristine subtropical broadleaf forests in the transitional zone between the Wuling and Xuefeng Mountains. Among these, the rock oak forest—a xerophytic evergreen broadleaf forest adapted to arid conditions on Tianqiao Mountain—is rare in China. The forest ecosystem formed under the unique geographical location and the purple sandy shale mountainous terrain of low hills is distinctive, with typical regional vegetation characteristics, ancient species origins, complex flora components, and abundant biodiversity. It is one of the 14 internationally significant terrestrial biodiversity key areas among China’s 35 key biodiversity regions, and it is the only nature reserve in Hunan—and rare in China—based on purple soil as its foundational substrate.

Since 1998, experts and scholars from institutions such as Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan Normal University, the Planning and Design Institute of the National Forestry Administration, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, and Jishou University have conducted surveys here. They unanimously agree that purple soil, due to its poor permeability, severe weathering, shallow soil layers, weak water and nutrient retention, and fragile ecosystems, is extremely difficult to restore once damaged. The well-preserved forest vegetation and ecological environment of the Tianqiao Mountain Nature Reserve make research on the forest vegetation and biodiversity on purple soil habitats critically important for improving the special habitat conditions of purple soil regions and for vegetation restoration. This research holds significant scientific, conservation, and demonstrative value.

The reserve boasts rich species resources and a high number of rare varieties, serving as an important genetic gene bank and biodiversity observation station for mid-subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests. Surveys have identified a total of 3,773 biological species in the Tianqiao Mountain Nature Reserve, including 146 species of ferns (from 55 genera and 27 families), 1,145 species of seed plants (from 660 genera and 161 families), 178 species of macrofungi (from 99 genera and 46 families), 231 species of vertebrates (from 159 genera, 77 families, 28 orders, and 5 classes), and 2,073 species of insects (from 182 families and 18 orders). Among these, 13 species are newly recorded in Hunan Province, including 2 seed plant species and 11 macrofungi species. The mid-subtropical low hilly region has rich plant diversity, making this reserve one of the best-preserved areas of purple soil vegetation in Hunan and even across China.

The well-preserved forest vegetation shelters many rare and protected species, including 1 species under national Class I protection and 26 under national Class II protection; 129 species are under key protection at the Hunan provincial level. There are 13 orchid species listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 2007), 20 species in Appendix II and 7 species in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Additionally, there are 2 plant species endemic to Hunan, 13 newly recorded species in Hunan Province, and 134 species under China’s “Three Protections” (i.e., protected wild animals and plants). Among them, the forest musk deer is included in the fifteen categories of key protected species identified in the “Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Construction Project,” one of China’s six major key construction initiatives. Many white-eared pheasants, which have gone extinct in their original habitats, maintain a certain population in the reserve, playing a vital role in the recovery of this species.