SECOSYSTEM APPROACH FOR STUDYING SECOSYSTEM APPROACH FOR STUDYING BIODIVERSITY BIODIVERSITY

IN THE SELENGA RIVER BASININ THE SELENGA RIVER BASIN

Peter D. Gunin*, Ch. Dugarjav ** and Sergey N. Bazha*, _________________________________________

- Laboratory of Arid Territories Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, RAS, 119071, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow, Russia, telephone: (+7-

499) - 124-3313; fax: (+7-499) -124-7934; E-mail: monexp@mail.ru ; sbazha@inbox.ru

- Laboratory of Forestry, Institute of Botany, Mongolian Academy of Sciences210351, Jukovin gudamj, 77. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,

Tel./ fax: (+976) – 11-451-837; E-mail: ibot@mongol.net

The main tasksThe main tasks

• Biodiversity of the ecosystems, floristic and faunistic diversity;

• Anthropogenic disturbance of the ecosystems;

• SPA network analysis

Baikal Basin Area

1.1. The Lake Baikal basin area is more The Lake Baikal basin area is more than than

5557 000 km57 000 km22 (52% - in Mongolia and (52% - in Mongolia and 48% - 48% - in Russia).in Russia).

2. Selenga River– is the transboundary 2. Selenga River– is the transboundary water object in the core of the Asian water object in the core of the Asian continent and is the biggest tributary continent and is the biggest tributary to the Lake Baikal to the Lake Baikal

( around 30 km( around 30 km33 of water annually), of water annually), that makes a half of total inflow to the that makes a half of total inflow to the Lake. The 46% of the annual run-off of Lake. The 46% of the annual run-off of the Selenga River is generated at the the Selenga River is generated at the territory of Mongolia.territory of Mongolia.

3. The Selenga River Basin area is 4473. The Selenga River Basin area is 447 060 km060 km22, of which 148060 km, of which 148060 km2 2 (33%) (33%) is within Russia and is within Russia and 299000 299000 kmkm22 (67%67%)) within Mongolia, comprises within Mongolia, comprises over 80% of the Baikal Basin area. over 80% of the Baikal Basin area.

4. The Selenga Delta of Lake Baikal is 4. The Selenga Delta of Lake Baikal is one of the world’s largest fresh water one of the world’s largest fresh water deltas occupying 680 kmdeltas occupying 680 km22. .

Lake Baikal Basin’ border

Russian part

Mongolian part

The main natural characteristics of the

Selenga Basin

The main natural characteristics of the

Selenga Basin The Selenga River Basin The Selenga River Basin

lies in the ecotone zone of lies in the ecotone zone of Southern Siberia and Southern Siberia and Central Asia. Central Asia.

Significant area of the Significant area of the basin is in the semiarid basin is in the semiarid zone, and includes forest, zone, and includes forest, forest-steppe and steppe forest-steppe and steppe ecosystems. ecosystems.

The length of the Selenga The length of the Selenga River is 1,024 km (of River is 1,024 km (of which 409 km are within which 409 km are within Russia). The main Russia). The main tributaries to Selenga are tributaries to Selenga are Djida, Temnik, Chikoy, Djida, Temnik, Chikoy, Khilok, Uda, Orkhon, Tuul, Khilok, Uda, Orkhon, Tuul, Muren, Egiin and Ider Muren, Egiin and Ider rivers.rivers.

The Mongolian part of the The Mongolian part of the Basin includes the Lake Basin includes the Lake Khubsulgul basin.Khubsulgul basin.

The main sources of water The main sources of water for the basin’ rivers are for the basin’ rivers are rains and thawing waters. rains and thawing waters.

Basin area of

Selenga

Baikal

Diversity of Ecotopes in the Selenga River Basin

Tree groups of Ecotopes are divided and packaged by a dominant type of landscape-forming processes:

• Denudational ecotopes of mountains, existing from rocky and semi-rocky materials, locally covered by friable deposits;

• Denudation-accumulative ecotopes of plateau, mainly lava, covered by thin layers of pebble-loamy deposits, and denudational, denudation-proluvial intermountain plains of friable deposits;

• Accumulative ecotopes of proluvium and alluvium, aeolian, alluvial, and alluvial-deltoid plains.

Each of these groups combines a different types of concrete ecotopes (19 types in the legend) and meso-ecosystems (49 types in the legend).

Terrestrial Ecosystems Diversity in the Selenga River Basin

Source: Gunin P.D., Vostokova E.A., Bazha S.N., Prischepa A.V. (Ed.) 2006. Ecosystems of Mongolia: diversity, present state and conservation. Moscow. Rosselhozacademia. 313 p.(in Russian)

- 206 combinations of meso-ecosystems;- More than 2400 contours;- Average area of contour is 3,2 km2.

Distribution of EcosystemsThe spatial structure of meso-ecosystems at the Basin area

depends from the latitude-zonal and high- altitude-zonal regularities, and has a number of regional features (geographic location of this area, its design and extents). Distribution of ecosystems type is a subject of zonal patterns in general, and clearly expressed in growing trends of diversity in direction from the north to the south (number of steppe ecosystems increase - forest and forest-steppe ecosystems decrease).

The wide strip of mountain-taiga forests frames the central part of the Basin with a vast semi- ring. Thus, in the Basin along its southern border is absolutely woodless and is characterized with domination of dry-steppe ecosystems. The desert steppes and psammophilous ecosystems of bumpy and barchan-bumpy sands are completely presented here. The steppes are forwarding further to north with a wide stripe, fraying out at 52° northern latitude.

The ecosystems of apical surfaces are located along the outer periphery of taiga “semi-ring” as the individual islands, rarely as more or less stretched stripes. This pattern is complicated with sub-latitude and sub-meridian location of the intermountain cavins, to which edges the steppe ecosystems are relevant.

The main Terrestrial Ecosystem types in Russian and Mongolian part of the Basin

ECOSYSTEM GROUPS

ECOSYSTEM TYPE

Russian Part

MongolianPart

Area, % Area, %

Automorphic

and semi- hydro-morphic natural

Golets and nival 0,9 3,6

Mountain-tundra-meadow

1,3 5,5

Sub-golets 5,5 3,5

Northern Taiga 11,8 9,2

Middle Taiga 22,0 12,9

Southern Taiga 16,6 13,5

Forest Steppe 5,6 30,7

Moderate Dry Steppe 1,7 0,7

Dry Steppe 5,7 7,6

Hydromorphic natural

High Mountain Forest 8,4 7,8

Forest-steppe and Steppe

15,2 1,2

Anthropogenic

Tillage and Fallow 3,1 2,5

Technogenic and Urbanized

2,0 1,4

Total 100 100

Floristic and Faunistic Diversity• About 2,000 species of vascular plants representing over 600 genera and

100 families grow in the Russian part of the Lake Baikal Basin. Here 180 species are endemic. The region is the habitat of 380 species of bryophytes and about 450 species of lichens.

• The fauna is also rather rich and diverse, with over 90 species of mammals, about 400 species of birds, over 20 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 35 species of fish.

• The flora of Mongolian part of the Selenga River Basin presented by 2,010 species of vascular plants, which belong to 476 genera and 95 families.

• The greatest floristic diversity characterizes the ecosystems of the Khangai (1,427 species) and Khentei-Chikoi (1,229 species) uplands. Those mountains are inhabited by 37 endemic species of flora.

• The Baikal Basin can be referred to the floristically rich regions in North Eurasia.

• The fauna of the Lake Baikal Basin is also extremely diverse although it has not been studied thoroughly so far.

• The Baikal region is inhabited by about 3,500 species of coleopterous beetles.

• The numbers of vertebrate species in terrestrial ecosystems reaches 540, of which 6 are amphibians, 6 are reptiles, 458 are birds and 70 are mammals.

Protected species of Flora and Fauna in Buryatian and Mongolian part of

the Basin (by:Red Books of Mongolia, 1988; Buryatia, 1997)

Type Buryatia NorthernMongolia

Fauna (total) 129 51Mammals 25 10

Birds 70 21

Reptiles 4 0

Amphibias 3 2

Fish 5 3

Insects 22 14

Mollusca 0 1Flora (total) 121 75Vasculares 115 55

Bryophyta 0 2

Algae 0 4

Lichens 6 9

Mushrooms 0 5

The number of protected flora and fauna species in Northern Mongolia and Buryatia within the boundaries of the Lake Baikal Basin totals 129 animal and 121 plant species, while the Red Book of Mongolia includes only 51 animal and 75 plant species.

Some of the species listed in the Red Book of Buryatia are absent from the Red Books of Mongolia, although they are found in those regions.

Anthropogenic Disturbance of the Selenga River Basin

Diagnosis of Dangerous Degradation Processes in terrestrial

ecosystemsUsing the detailed analysis of ecosystems condition and study of dynamics of its components was established a main groups of the most hazardous processes defining factors of impact and ecological risks affecting biodiversity and environmental safety:

1- Expansion of alkaloid and poisonous plants2-Bush encroaching in pasture ecosystems3-Deforestation of forest –steppe ecosystems4-Desertification soil-plant cover5-Impoverishment of hydromorphic ecosystems 6 – Expansion of destructive harmful pests into larch and birch forest

Invasion Invasion of Hemp species (Cannabis sativa, C. ruderalis) , Ephedra sinica,

Peganum harmala e.t.c)

1. 1. Expansion of alkaloid plants into into Natural-AnthropogenicNatural-Anthropogenic Ecosystems Ecosystems

2. Bush encroaching in steppe 2. Bush encroaching in steppe pasture ecosystemspasture ecosystems

Replacement of typical dominant grass species by shrubs and dwarf subshrubs Caragana microphylla, Juniperus pseudosabina, Artemisia frigida, Amygdalus pedunculata

3. Deforestation of forest- 3. Deforestation of forest- steppe ecosystemssteppe ecosystems

Formation of new bush communities (Betula fusca, Spiraea aquilegifolia, Armeniaca sibirica, Amygdalus pedunculata, Dasiphora fruticosa, etc.)instead of coniferous forest

4. Impoverishment of hydromorphic ecosystems

Outgrowth Outgrowth of low- and non eatable species : Iris Bungei, I. Lactea, I. Dichotoma, Artemisia

laciniata, A. adamsii, A. commutata in degraded ecosystems

5. Desertification of 5. Desertification of soil-plant cover: soil-plant cover:

Depletion of grass sod and humus horizons and formation dune relief with typical desert plants: Agriophyllum pungens, Corispermum mongolicum, Psammochloa villosa etc.

6 Expansion of harmful destructive pests into larch and birch forest

(Dendrolimus sibiricus)(Dendrolimus sibiricus)

((Limantria dispar)Limantria dispar)

Siberian mothSiberian moth

GGipsy mothipsy moth

SPA network analysis

Due to intensive anthropogenic transformation in terrestrial ecosystems of the Selenga River Basin (up to 65% of the area), the role of present and planned SPAs is a key issue for ecosystems protection and rehabilitation.

Specially Protected Areas, Mongolian Part

• The total area of Mongolian SPNS is 205,300 sq. km (13% of the country’s territory), and those situated in the Baikal Basin have an area of 24,800 sq. km, or 8.5% of the Basin territory.

• In Mongolia, SPNS are located in their highest concentration in the Western, Southern and Eastern parts of the Basin.

• However, there are practically no SPNS in the central part of the Basin.

Area of presence under protection by the type of ecosystems (Mongolian

part)

Ecosystem index

Area, sq. km Good: 1,2,3,4 – High-mountain nival

and loaches;7 – Larch and cedar-larch sparse growth of trees on the high-mountain and middle mountain ecotopes;12,13 – cedar and larch forest with bushes on the frosen podsolic soils.

Poor or nonpresented: 5,6 – sub-golets types with larch,cedar sparce grows elfin wood; 14 – middle taiga birch and pine forest on podzolic soils; 18 – south-taiga pine-larch forest with birch and bushes on turfy-podzolic soils;21 – steppe meadows in mountain; 38 – bushy birch forest with larch in comb. with bunchgrass meadows; 41 – high grassy marshes with reed and willow on the meadow-swampy soils.

Specially Protected Areas, Russian Part

• Almost the entire part of the Basin located in Irkutsk Province enjoys protection and constitutes an almost uninterrupted belt along the Western lake shore.

• In the territory of Buryatia, the largest protected sites are also situated close to Lake Baikal (outside from The Selenga basin), while others are mostly small separated temporary

reserves. • In the Republic of

Buryatia, the area of protected sites is 3.6 million hectares, which constitutes 10% of the Baikal Basin territory, but less than 3,5% of the Selenga River Basin.

Area of presence under protection by the type of ecosystems (Russian

part)Sq. km

Index of ecosystem

Good: 13 – High-mountain Forests; 19 – forest-steppe and forest on plains of river deltas; 44, 46 – swampy meadows with willow and reed.

Poor or nonpresented: 1, 2 - high mountain nival;11- birch, alder and cedar forest on frosen podsolic soils; 21- steppe meadows with bushes on the meadow-chernozem soils;31, 32 – steppe with caragana and bunchgrasses on the sandy lite chestnut soils; 39 – motley grass meadows with cereals and willow on the flood-meadow soils.

Location of existing and planned SPAs in the Selenga River Basin•In terms of

SPAs optimization in the Baikal basin the most obvious and urgent task is establishment of a transboundary cluster biosphere reserve in its mid part, which basic function should not be only conservation of inundated-valley, mountain-forest and mountain-steppe ecosystems, but the establishment of ecological and geo-chemical monitoring in the central part of the Baikal basin as well.

Selenga Selenga TransboundaryTransboundaryCluster Biosphere Cluster Biosphere ReserveReserve

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Location of planned SPA in the Selenga River Basin

• Ecotone character of Baikal basin biota, prevalence of mountain-forest (50,5% in the Russian part and 35,5% – in Mongolian) and mountain-steppe (11,3% and 31,9% respectively) ecosystems at its territory, as well as their high spatial mosaics imply the cluster organization of infrastructure of a TBR in the central part of the Selenga basin.

• Establishment of TBR should be grounded on the following three basic principles which determine the importance of each parts in conservation of ecosystem and biological diversity:

- existence of aboriginal and pseudo-aboriginal communities – ecosystems of virgin and weakly disturbed dark and light coniferous forests;

- existence of unique mountain forest-steppe ecosystems in Sothern Siberia and Northern Mongolia;

- existence of endemics, relict and rare species in plant associations.

In conclusionIn conclusion

• Implementation of planned activities on the establishment of a new cluster biosphere reserve in a mid part of the Selenga River Basin would allow for not only improve the conservation of ecosystem and biological diversity of unique Baikal region, but detect beforehand and prevent adverse anthropogenic alterations in both the terrestrial basin ecosystems and the Baikal aqua-systems.

* * *Спасибо за внимание!

Thank You for attention