Vertical Vegetation Landscape and Volcanic Landscape in Changbai Mountain

Description

The nominated property is a typical long-dormant volcano with obvious volcanic landform group like volcanic lava landform, water landform, Karst landform and glacial and periglacial landform. Meanwhile, Changbai Mountain is a natural museum and a giant gene pool, which gathers a variety of climatic types and biological community types like Temperate Zone and Cold Temperate Zone, Subarctic Zone and Arctic Circle, etc… Its vertical vegetation landscape belt gathers more ecosystems, biological species and typical landforms within a limited geographical area than any other similar properties.

The nominated property is also the most essential habitat for protecting biodiversity in the Northeast Asia. It is endowed with unusual general value in many aspects such as ecology, biology, geology and history. The rare vertical vegetation landscape and volcanic landscape there enjoy inestimable value in terms of ecology, science and aesthetics.

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

The nominated property boasts great scientific value with its special ecological system of vertical vegetation distribution.

The nominated property has the vertical vegetation landscape belt with the most abundant animal and plant populations. As a complete and barely damaged original habitat, it enriches significant landscapes horizontally distributed in more than thousands of kilometers from the North Temperate Zone to the Arctic Circle in the range of a vertical height of more than 2000 meters. It gathers more ecosystems, biological species and typical landforms within a limited geographical area than any other similar properties, which is rare worldwide. The nominated property, as an important witness of the earth’s evolution, has provided a complete ecological protection space for the survival and reproduction of the endangered animals. It has irreplaceable scientific value for the formation and evolution of volcanic geology, the distribution and evolution of animals and plants in Northeast Asia.

Rich biodiversity and hotspot of endangered animals with protective value.

Changbai Mountain, covered almost all of the typical vegetation types from the North Temperate Zone to the North Pole, is not only the best preserved area of the original state and the most abundant areas of biological species among regions of the same latitude in Eurasian continent, but also a natural museum and a rare gene pool. There are more than 2400 species of wild plants, more than 1500 species of wild animals, 277 species of birds, 56 species of mammals, 75 species of fish, 10 species of amphibians, 12 species of reptiles and more than 3000 species of insects in Changbai Mountain, including 24 species of national rare and endangered plants, 312 species of provincial protection plants, 150 species of rare animals ,17 species of rare birds and 11 species of endemic specie like exotic plants Ophioglossum Thermale Kom and Pinus Sylvestriformis.

The typical volcanic landform type is an example of the important stage of the earth's evolution, which can bring outstanding research value.

The landform the nominated property, experiencing complex geological evolution process, is composed of volcanic lava landform, water landform, Karst landform and glacial and periglacial landform. Its development process reflects the history of the interaction between the Pacific plate and the Eurasian continent. It plays an irreplaceable role in the study of the modern plate movement, the ancient plate movement and the global geological evolution.

Criterion  (vii): The landform of the nominated property reflects four unique landform types--volcanic lava landform, water landform, Karst landform and glacial and periglacial landform. The natural wonders like the world's highest volcanic crater lake – Tianchi, various types of peaks, steep cliffs and alleys, milarites and rock benches, hot springs and waterfalls, which enriches marvelous vertical landscapes horizontally distributed in more than 2000 km from the North Temperate Zone to the Arctic Circle; and the most typical Million Acres of Alpine Garden in Northeast Asia are all presented in Changbai Mountain.

Criterion (viii): The nominated property is the most representative region in studying the uplift and formation evolution, mountain formation and volcanic mechanism of Changbai Mountains--the highest mountain range in Northeast China. As a typical long-dormant volcano with obvious volcanic landform group like volcanic lava landform, water landform, Karst landform and glacial and periglacial landform, Changbai Mountain is a rare region for volcanic mechanism study; It has also preserved a large number of important historical relics in each geological stage and biological evolution process from Archeozoic Era to Cenozoic Era.

Criterion (ix): In the Mesozoic era, during 2.05~1.40 million years ago, the nominated property has witnessed the important biological evolution process. From the late Indosinian period, influenced by subduction effect of the Kula plate in the North Pacific, breaks and depressions occurred in Changbai Mountain. Then biology reproduced and developed under warm and humid climate conditions, there were fern, fish, insects, double shell, etc…Among which was the unique tree species--Pinus Sylvestriformisin the vertical landscape, this special ecological system，representing plant population development of terrestrial ecosystems in the process of evolution.

Criterion (x): The nominated property is a natural museum and a giant gene pool, its vertical vegetation landscape belt gathers a variety of climatic types and biological community types like Temperate Zone and Cold Temperate Zone, Subarctic Zone and Arctic Circle, etc…There are a complete preservation of wild flora and endemic fauna. It has a very high scientific significance for the study of distribution, classification and evolution of organisms with its significant biological diversity and high-density vertical distribution. The nominated property also boasts 73 species of rare and endangered plants, 150 species of rare and endangered animals. There is a large enough area of protection, a complete and undamaged ecological corridor, that has a unique advantage in the endangered species habitat.

Statements of authenticity and/or integrity

The nominated property, with its volcanic landscape and vertical biological distribution centered in Tianchi, has formed a relatively complete ecosystem for endangered species. According to Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, ensuring The nominated property’s natural value of natural resources get effective integrity protection is in accordance with Convention on Biological Diversity standards, and it is also in line with the requirements for the standard of the world natural heritage integrity.

Important geological processes and terrain characters of Changbai Mountain includes its important independent factors in the natural relationship.

Specific geology and terrain heritages needed for the formation of a vertical landscape are completely preserved in the nominated property. As volcano remains, Changbai Mountain’s typical remains of important eruptions were preserved intact, Tianchi, for example, is the historical relics of the volcanic crater collapsing into the lake.

Protected area in the nominated property contains a crucial range for keeping the vertical landscape.

The scope of the nominated property meets regional conditions to maintain the integrity and sustainability of the natural wonders-- the vertical landscape. There is a large enough area, covering a total area of 1964 square kilometers, with the core area of 1498 square kilometers, the buffer area of 465 square kilometers; there is high enough altitude: 300~2600 meters; there is clear enough climate and soil vertical distribution characteristics; there are volcanic lava landform, water landform, Karst landform and glacial and periglacial landform; there is a sufficient number of biological species…From all above constitute the integrity conditions of vertical landscape with natural wonders and beautiful scenery .

Vertical landscape belt is the most important scenic spot in protection of biodiversity.

In the natural wonders consisted by special ecosystem—vertical landscape, there are variety of biology and terrestrial ecosystems, including highly complex and the most important scenic spots within species consisted by plant species, animal species and a variety of ecosystems, and spots between species and ecosystems, which meets the standards of Convention on Biological Diversity.

Comparison with other similar properties

Comparison of the important geological processes or the landform characters in the evolution of earth's topography.

The nominated property is a typical long-dormant volcano with obvious volcanic landform group like volcanic lava landform, water landform, Karst landform and glacial and periglacial landform; Plate joint of transverse slot or vertical joint of longitudinal slot of Mount Kumgang in North Korea formed the rock pillar, rock face, rock bench and cliff, with less jointed rock formed the bottom. Haegeumgang is formed due to the mouth of the bay formed by high-rising water is completely blocked by sand; The Alps is influenced by the alpine glacial action and glacier tongue which fills the valley and scratched to the plain, just like a concave ground of the amphitheatre. By glaciations, mountain peak, moraine, mountain swamp, mountain lakes and broad valley of Western Caucasus have come into being.

The nominated property enjoys the most important habitat for the conservation of biodiversity. Endangered species with universal value in science and conservation are found there.

The nominated property habitats more than 2400 species of wild plants, over 1500 species of wild animals and 73 species of rare and endangered plants , 150 species of rare and endangered animals, 11 species of endemic specie like exotic plants Ophioglossum Thermale Kom and Sylvestriformis Pinus. There are 2256 species of plants in Mount Kumgang of North Korea, including more than 100 species of endemic plants, 38 species of mammals and 130 species of birds; Fuji Mountain in Japan embodies more than 2000 species of plants; and 1580 species of plants and 700 species of fungus, 126 species of birds and 17 species of reptiles are in Western Caucasus.

Significant natural phenomena and natural beauty are of great significance in aesthetics.

The nominated property enriches significant landscapes horizontally distributed in more than thousands of kilometers from the North Temperate Zone to the Arctic Circle in the range of a vertical height of more than 2000 meters and shows five distinct belts of vertical plant distribution with broad-leaved forest, coniferous forest, coniferous forest, ermanii forest and alpine tundra; Japan Fuji Mountain, with similar latitude, is covered with four vertical plant distribution belts: subtropical evergreen forests, temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest, cold temperate coniferous forest, alpine dwarf forest. While the Alps have four distribution belts, such as: mixed forest, coniferous forest, alpine meadow, snow capped mountains, there are five in Western Caucasus: deciduous forest, fir and pine, birch and maple forest, Caucasus cuckoo and bush belt and snow capped mountains.