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Jiaxin Nature Reserve

Jiaxin Nature Reserve is a provincial-level nature reserve.

Hainan Jiaxin Provincial Nature Reserve is situated in the southeastern part of Wanning City, Hainan Province. It extends from Dajianling on the west at the boundary with Lingshui to Dongling on the east, from Liangoutianling on the north to Niu Ridge on the south, and borders the South China Sea to the southeast, oriented southwest–northeast. The geographical coordinates lie between 110°16′542″–110°12′481″ east longitude and 18°40′330″–18°38′664″ north latitude. The reserve spans parts of two towns—Liji and Nanqiao—and three farms—Nanlin, Xinglong, and Donghe—in Wanning City, covering a total area of 113,829 mu. Of this, the core zone spans 56,121.1 mu, accounting for 49.3% of the total area; the buffer zone covers 32,384.2 mu, or 28.4%; and the experimental zone occupies 25,323.7 mu, making up 22.2%. It is primarily designated to protect the tropical lowland rainforest ecosystem.

The terrain of the reserve consists of mid-to-low mountain hills, sloping from west to east in a step-like descent. Mid-mountain landforms are mainly found in the western part of the reserve, including Monsuilin and Diaoshuilin, which are composed of granite with weathered red granite soil. Low mountain landforms dominate the central area, featuring peaks such as Yingbobiling, Huzigongling, Jianling Mountain, Wukengling, and Tongtieling, with soils primarily consisting of granite lateritic red soil and some granite yellow soil. Hilly landforms are mainly distributed across the central and eastern parts of the reserve, including Dawuling, Cunzailing, Dazhiling, Heizitouling, Zhuquling, and Dongling, formed from granite and characterized by granite lateritic soil and some lateritic red soil.

Wanning City, where the reserve is located, lies in low latitudes south of the Tropic of Cancer. It enjoys abundant sunshine, plentiful rainfall, and relatively high temperatures, with no severe cold in winter or extreme heat in summer. It has a tropical marine monsoon climate, characterized by:

Mild climate, small temperature variation, and high accumulated temperature. The annual average temperature is 24.4°C, with the coldest January averaging 18.7°C and an extreme minimum of 1.5°C; the hottest July averages 28.5°C, with an extreme maximum of 41.3°C. For nine months of the year, the average temperature exceeds 22°C, and the frost-free period lasts over 350 days, making the climate pleasant. The accumulated temperature above 10°C ranges from 8,428.8°C to 8,928.4°C, and the effective accumulated temperature ranges from 4,743.3°C to 5,264.9°C.

The reserve is home to 163 families, 677 genera, and 1,288 species of wild seed plants (including varieties, subspecies, and forms). Among these, there are approximately 401 timber-yielding species, 623 medicinal plants, 86 oil-yielding plants, 58 aromatic plants, 102 nectariferous plants, 56 fiber plants, 66 wild fruit species, 196 ornamental plants, 51 fodder plants, 22 green manure plants, 24 insecticidal plants, 27 tannin plants, and 16 starch plants. These figures represent 78.9%, 56.0%, and 38.3% of the total families, genera, and species of seed plants on Hainan Island (204 families, 1,206 genera, 3,325 species), and 47.8%, 21.0%, and 5.0%–4.8% of those nationwide (337 families, 3,200 genera, 26,276–27,268 species), respectively. The flora here is strongly tropical in nature, with pantropical and tropical Asian elements being dominant, accounting for 28.1% and 29.5% of the total genera (excluding cosmopolitan genera), respectively. At the species level, tropical elements make up the vast majority. There are 279 endemic species to China within the region, representing 21.8% of the total species, including 121 species endemic to Hainan, which account for 43.4% of the China-endemic species in this area. The seed plant flora of the reserve exhibits distinct tropical characteristics at the family, genus, and species levels, with tropical and subtropical distributions overwhelmingly prevailing.

The reserve has 119 species of ferns, belonging to 40 families and 71 genera. Families with six or more species include Polypodiaceae, Thelypteridaceae, Aspleniaceae, Tectariaceae, Lindsaeaceae, Hymenophyllaceae, and Pteridaceae, which are the dominant fern families in the reserve. Based on modern plant geography, the distribution types of fern genera and species in this area show that tropical elements account for 95.31% of non-cosmopolitan genera and 75.21% of species, indicating strong affinities with tropical floras and a notably tropical nature. Most ferns in the reserve are shade-loving, moisture-dependent, or epiphytic. The seven-finger fern (Helminthostachys zeylanica) population is a rare fern species in the area and warrants enhanced protection.

There are 85 species of rare and endangered wild plants distributed in the reserve, including 2 species under national first-class protection (1999), namely Cycas hainanensis (Hainan cycad) and Hopea hainanensis (Hainan hopea), and 10 species under national second-class protection. Among the 85 rare and endangered plant species, 26 are trees, 6 are shrubs, 51 are herbs, and 2 are vines. According to the National Key Protected Wild Plants List (First Batch), the area hosts five second-class protected fern species: Ceratopteris thalictroides (water fern), Helminthostachys zeylanica (seven-finger fern), Alsophila metteniana var. basilaris (hairy-stemmed tree fern), Cibotium barometz (golden-haired dog fern), and Alsophila podophylla (black tree fern).

The reserve records 94 species of wild terrestrial vertebrates, belonging to 17 orders, 41 families, 78 genera. These include 10 species of amphibians (1 order, 5 families, 9 genera), 21 species of reptiles (3 orders, 9 families, 20 genera), 57 species of birds (9 orders, 23 families, 43 genera), and 6 species of mammals (4 orders, 4 families, 6 genera). There are also 23 fish species and 33 butterfly species.