Preliminary study on ecological environment and biological resources of Qinba areas

The Qinba areas, located in the Central China, represent 317 000 km;, cover 6 provinces. The major mountain of Qinba areas, the Qinling, separates China North and South. This region is one of the areas with the most biodiversity and ecological importance in China and globally, and considered as natural gene bank and bio-resource bank.Qinba mountain areas, together with the Alps in Europe and the Rocky Mountains in North America, are known as the "Three sisters of the earth" by the geological and biological circles. Most of the lands in this region are protected as national park, natural reserve, water resource protection area, etc. These areas have well preserved ecosystem and breeding and habitat area for many endangered species of plants and animals, inculding Panda. In this region, there are more than4000 species of higher plants, about 2000 species of medicinal plants and animals, 200 species of wild ornamental plants and 180 species of economic fungi with edible and medicinal value in those areas. Medicinal plant cultivation, eco-agriculture and ecotourism are the major industries in this region. The State Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment of Qinba Areas, located in Hanzhong, the central city of Qinba, is focusing on pan-regional biological resources research and rational utilization, ecological protection, and comprehensive and coordinated regional development.