Huhehaote National Nature Reserve

Huhehaote National Nature Reserve

Huhehaote National Nature Reserve is a national-level nature reserve.

Huhehaote National Nature Reserve

In December 1997,

the People's Government of the Ewenki Autonomous Banner approved the establishment of the Huhehaote Rare Birds and Wetlands Local Nature Reserve. In November 1999, the People's Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region approved its upgrade to an autonomous region-level nature reserve. In July 2002, the State Council approved its elevation to a national nature reserve. In July 2004, with the approval of the Hulunbuir Municipal Institutional Organization Committee (Document No. Huiji Bian Fa [2004] 33), the Hulunbuir Huhehaote National Nature Reserve Administration was established. It is affiliated with the Hulunbuir Municipal People's Government, managed on behalf of the Ewenki Autonomous Banner People's Government, and is a deputy division-level public institution.

Huhehaote National Nature Reserve is located in the southwestern part of Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,

within the administrative area of the Ewenki Autonomous Banner. The northern boundary of the reserve is 22.5 kilometers from Hailar District, the political, economic, and cultural center of Hulunbuir City.

22.5 kilometers,

while the southern part borders the Honghuaerji Larch Forest. Its geographical coordinates are N48°10′–48°57′; E118°48′–119°45′, covering a total area of 3,468.48 square kilometers. The reserve has established three core zones: Gaolindongduer, Meadow Steppe, and Sandy Larch Sparse Forest, spanning 684 square kilometers, accounting for 19.72% of the total reserve area. The buffer zone covers 827 square kilometers, and the experimental zone spans 1,957.48 square kilometers.

Huhehaote Nature Reserve lies in the transitional zone between the forested Greater Khingan Mountains and the Hulunbuir Grassland, as well as between meadow steppe and typical steppe. It integrates forests, grasslands, and wetlands, featuring diverse landforms such as low mountains, hills, high plains, sandy areas, and river valleys, resulting in a complex and unique natural ecosystem.

Wetlands are the main feature of Huhehaote Nature Reserve. The reserve contains three types of wetlands—riverine, lacustrine, and marsh—and is characterized by large contiguous wetland areas, totaling 1,167 square kilometers. The wetlands within the reserve play a vital role in maintaining regional ecological balance and provide an ideal habitat for numerous rare and endangered bird species.

The sandy larch forest in the reserve is one of the most precious forest resources distributed within China’s portion of the eastern grassland ecoregion of the Eurasian continent, covering a total area of 121.58

square kilometers. Located in the transitional zone between the Greater Khingan Mountains forest and the Hulunbuir Grassland, it forms an ecological ecotone where forest and grassland biotic communities intermingle, exhibiting high landscape heterogeneity.

The grasslands within the reserve cover a total area of 2,179.9 square kilometers, comprising both meadow steppe and typical steppe types. They maintain transitional characteristics between these two grassland types and are generally lightly influenced by human activity, largely preserving their natural state.

Huhehaote Nature Reserve boasts rich animal and plant resources. According to surveys, the reserve is home to 187 bird species from 38 families, including nine Class I nationally protected bird species such as the red-crowned crane and great bustard, and 27 Class II protected bird species such as the whooper swan and Eurasian spoonbill. There are 31 fish species from eight families, 10 amphibian and reptile species from three families, and 42 mammal species from 15 families, including four Class II protected mammal species. The reserve also hosts 344 plant species, belonging to 199 genera across 60 families, including two species from one genus in one family of ferns,

two species from two genera in two families of gymnosperms, with the rest being angiosperms.