Kanbula National Park - Term Paper Example

The Impact of Lijiaxia Hydro Power Plant on Kanbula National Park The of your Institute Kanbula National Park is considered to be one of the wonderful sites of China. The forest, which is known for its particular Danxia landform and its diversified flora and fauna, is adjacent to the famous Liajiaxia Hydroelectric Power Station. Wildlife and forest management is essential to preserve its natural beauty and to maintain the ecological processes within. Due to the industrialization boost within China’s borders, there are many factors that affect the wildlife and the forest therein. Though Liajiaxia Hydroelectric Power Station is producing clean energy, it, ironically, has caused several changes in the ecological system of the Kanbula Forest. This paper aims to provide an exposition about the characteristics of the Kanbula National Park; determine the impact of Lijiaxia Hydro Power Plant on the ecological process within Kanbula National Park and; propose several ways of wildlife and forest management while taking into consideration the present condition of the Kanbula National Park. Introduction A forest ecosystem primarily consists of trees and other naturally growing plants. It also nurtures various types and species of animals. A forest ecosystem, such as the Kanbula Forest, provides people with food, fuel, timber and fiber as well. Most people do not fully recognize the importance of forests in their lives. However, it should be noted that, among other things, forests protect the hydrologic cycle. They also help in climate regulation by basically being natural sinks of carbon, which is one of the greenhouse gases that harm the planet (Espaldon et al, 2004). Kanbula forest is one of the most diverse forests in China. Huge mountains, covered with trees, extend from the forest. There are deflated hills around the forest that are formed due to erosion from wind and sand. The hills are called red cloud landforms. What is more, other than the huge number of flora and fauna therein, Kanbula forest is also quite rich in natural resources. However, the ecological system of the forest is at risk of destruction due to several issues related to human activity. The primary factor affecting the ecosystem within the forest is the Lijiaxia Hydro Power Plant, which has been causing changes therein from the time of its establishment to the present. These factors have effected changes in the National Forest Park, and these changes have, in turn, affected various wildlife species and their habitat. This includes their numerical depletion in the area from trapping, hunting and human expansion into their habitat. As per Sajise et al, major causes of forest destruction include industrialization, commercialism and weak enforcement of forest laws (1996). This paper will dig deeper into several issues that Kanbula National Park is facing, and how these issues or factors impact the ecological system thereof. Effect of Hydro Power Plant on Ecosystem Hydroelectric Power Plants can also cause destruction to the aquatic ecosystem. The dams along the Pacific and Atlantic course have reduced the fish population especially that of Salmon by preventing the fish to reach breeding grounds upstream (Duncan, Graham-Rowe., 2005). Downstream river environment is also affected thereby; water coming out of the turbine usually contains very little suspended sediment that leads to river scouring and loss of riverbanks and riverbeds. Since turbine gates are cyclically opened, changes in river flow are observed. Water coming out of the turbines is usually warmer than water behind the dam and, thus, the aquatic faunal life is affected. Hydroelectric power plants in tropical regions produce huge amount of methane and carbon dioxide gas. This is because of plant materials in flooded areas that decay due to anaerobic conditions and form methane gas, which is a harmful greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gas emissions from the hydroelectric reservoir may be higher than those of a conventional oil-fired thermal generation plant (Duncan, Graham-Rowe., 2005). Another disadvantage of hydroelectric power plants is that human population is displaced as people need to relocate from places that are allotted for dam construction. According to estimation in February 2008, 40-80 million people have lost their homes because of dam construction (Duncan, Graham-Rowe., 2005) History of Lijiaxia Hydro Power Plant Located on the upper Yellow River, the Lijiaxia dam is the largest body of water within Gansu. The dam was built primarily to provide hydroelectric power, but it is also used for flood control and irrigation. The hydro power plant of the dam has five generators with a total installed capacity of 1,225MW (IAEG, 1996). When it became operational it was the country’s biggest power plant and it remained so until the 1980s (Jing, 1998). In 1955, the Chinese government announced a large-scale program for the construction of this hydroelectric power plant on Yellow River (Jing, 1998). It was the first hydro power plant that introduced the concept of bidding and tendering in China. According to the plan, one dam was to be built in each of the Three Gorges of the Yellow River; Lijia Gorge, Yanguo Gorge and Bapan Gorge (IAEG, 1996). In 1958, the construction of the first three dams was started and the Lijiaxia Dam was completed in 1969 (Jing, 1998). The generators of the Lijiaxia Hydroelectric Power Plant were brought into working between 1969 and 1974. The water reservoirs of the three dams displaced large number of local farmers: the three dams flooded 7,781 hectares of farmland and displaced 43,829 local residents (Jing, 1998). The compensation paid to the displaced farmers averaged 365 Yuan per person, which was very inadequate; however it does not concern this paper. Impact of Lijiaxia Hydro Power Plant on Kanbula Forest The Kanbula National Forest Park is located in Northwest of Jianza County of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous States in Qinghai Province, with total area of 15,054 hectares and altitude of 2,100 to 4,000 meters above sea level (Hong, 2009). It borders on the Yellow River in the North and is adjacent to the Lijiaxia Hydro Power Station. Since the establishment of Lijiaxia Hydro Power Plant, several changes have occurred in the ecosystem of the Kanbula Forest. Hydropower is considered to be a form of green energy. However, hydro power plants produce greenhouse gases, moreover, other harmful and toxic wastes created by large water reservoirs have harmful effects on indigenous animals and plants. According to the records of Qinghai forestry department, in the forest, the woodland area accounts for 9,949 hectares, while non-woodland area accounts for 5,105 hectares; 1,934 hectares account for shrub land and 140 hectares for immature woodland. The common tree species of the forest mostly are in their young and middle age stage, thus they have strong growth potential (QFSR, 2006). The dominant species of the trees are Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia), Mountain birch (Betula pubescens), pine (pinus), and Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) (Wu, 2007). The amount of zonal distribution of vegetation is not significant but most significant vertical belts are the ones from 2,780 to 3,500 meters above sea level with distribution of birch, pine, Qinghai spruce and other trees (QFSR, 2006). Moreover, the dominant species of fauna in Kanbula Forest are white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Musk deer (Moschus moschiferus), Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon hodgsoni), and Tibetan eared pheasant (Crossoptilon). The animals and plants in the forest have faced deterioration and have been forced to adapt to the current environmental conditions, caused by the construction of large dams and water reservoirs for the hydro power plant. On the one hand, the hydro power plant has not only flooded large areas of land, but the large dam traps sediments from Yellow River that replenish the side of the beach area as well. Thus, the plants, which grow near the beach, have suffered loss of habitat, and some of them have become nutrient deficient causing a decline in their ecological and economical value (McCully, 1996). For instance, wolfberry (Lycium barbarum), is an interesting example of one of these plant species that has been affected by the construction of the dam. Wolfberry’s growing relies on chestnut soil that has very little water holding capacity and very little aeration. Their habitat has become polluted from the erosion caused by the dam water and the resultant sediment filling. Kanbula forest’s soil has five categories. The Fourth type is the chestnut soil that is found at an altitude of 2,600 and 2,800 meters. The Fifth is the grey desert soil that is found at an elevation below 2,400 meters (QFSR, 2006). Lijiaxia hydro power plant is constructed on the altitude base that is dominated with chestnut soil zone, which is the wolfberry growing zone. The loss of replenishment of the beach because of loss of sedimentation has resulted in loss of wolfberry and it has been replaced by small sized, low tolerant epiphytes. Thus, the wolfberry has been forced to lose its ecological and economical value. In addition, water reservoirs have accelerated the evaporation of water compared to pre-condition; so wolfberry, which is a tolerant plant, is forced to adapt to the new condition and, resultantly, its growth is stunted and its ability to hold water in the soil strengthens (McCully, 1996). Due to the large reservoirs of water required for the construction of the hydro power plant large areas of the forestland that were very productive and biologically rich in nutrients were destructed (Wu, 2007). Large water dams cause fragmentation of the habitat and its surrounding areas, thus aggravating the situation further. Moreover, the deep ground excavation and filling, construction of dams for water reservoirs, spoil pipes and roads have shifted the woodland areas. All this has negatively impacted the ecosystem of the Kanbula Forest. Commuter construction causes an immense degree of soil erosion, which results in loss of benefits of forest protection (Yang, 2009). Parts of vegetation of the forest near the hydropower plant have been lost and the total forest coverage area has reduced. Consequently, losses to the forest’s ecosystem have been immense. In addition, water reservoirs that are constructed as artificial lakes attract tourists and, thus, the human activities near the hydro power plant increases disturbing the ecosystem of the forest (Bao, 2006). Human activity is a major source of destruction as well. For instance, noises that are created during construction of dams, cause great disturbance to the wildlife as noises confuse the wildlife activity and disturb their existent habitat. Due to these disturbing noises during the creation of the dams, the surrounding wildlife had to leave their habitat due to which the whole food chain of the forest changed, causing serious ecosystem turbulence. This caused some of the fragile species of the forest to become rare or extinct. For instance, Tibetan argali in Kanbula forest have faced huge problems due to the construction of the hydropower plant. It is one of the indigenous specie of the forest living at the zone of alpine shrub meadow that is found at the altitude between 3,600 and 3,900 meters and at the zone of upland meadow shrub that is found at an altitude between 3,200 and 3,700 meters. The species grazes at the zone of the grey cinnamon soil frequently without disturbing, which is found at 2,600 and 3,400 meters elevation (QHSR, 2006). However, construction and town construction use huge areas of land of the forest, where previously blue sheep used to be active throughout the day and used to alternate feed and rest on the grassy mountain slopes. Disturbances caused by human activities in the natural habitat of the blue sheep, forced the blue sheep to move up to other mountainous areas, to avoid human interference in their lives. One of the consequences of construction of Lijiaxia Hydropower Plant is the disarray and confusion in the food chain of the forest ecosystem, which has resulted in loss of predators causing ecological disturbance for other species. In addition, displacement of blue sheep population on upper mountainous areas has resulted in over grazing of the upper mountain epiphyte vegetation. According to Qinghai Forestry Department, to monitor wildlife population, to conserve and manage harvest specie, and to understand population changes since the construction of Lijiaxia Hydropower Plant, distance-sampling methods have been adopted. Distance sampling method has also been adopted to estimate seasonal density of Tibetan argali in the area of Kanbula Forest region from year 2002 to 2005. In all, mean group sizes ranged from 2.12 to 7.65 individuals during the season. Density estimates varied between 3,420 sheep per square kilometers in spring in 2002 and 2,170 square kilometer in late spring in 2004 as per the Kanbula forest monitor and control status report (QHSR., 2006). Analysis of the data shows that the Tibetan argali population has had a downward trend ever since the construction of hydropower plant next to the Kanbula forest. Key players and Stakeholders Actions Several different institutes are involved in the management of the Kanbula forest. The Qinghai forestry department, Huangnan Tibetan autonomous state forestry department, and the state’s tourism department are the main key players in the management of the wildlife and ecological system within the Kanbula forest. As mentioned, Lijiaxia hydropower plant has been responsible for disturbing Kanbula forest ecosystem’s healthy growth since its construction. Unfortunately, the responsible departments do not record much detail about Kanbula forest ecosystem changes. This means that there is a lack of monitoring and proper management leading to compromised preservation of the Kanbula forest. Moreover, these departments do not have complete research data regarding ecological and environmental studies that should have been performed for Kanbula Forest. However, there are abundant materials and data bout its tourism developmental trends. Although Kanbula national park is given preservation and protection status, local government still take advantage of Kanbula forest’s natural resources for the state’s economical development. This leads to lack of active support for forest development and dismal performance in forestry protection and reforestation. Conclusion The construction of the Lijiaxia Hydropower Plant Station has immensely affected the ecological system of the Kanbula Forest. The power plant could be marked as inefficient and destructive to forestry utilization. Despite the presence of managing approaches and policies, the government and the regulators have failed to protect the Kanbula Forest even from mere disturbance and destruction as the floral and faunal species in the forest have been severely affected. There is need for the stakeholders to take more serious steps in line with the present protocol for preservation and reforestation, in a bid to decrease the harmful effects first and to restore the forest to its previous condition second. References Bao, M. (2006). Tourism Development in Kanbula National Forest Park. The journal of China Forestry, 2(10), 2. Duncan, G. (2005). Hydroelectric powers dirty secret revealed. Energy Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.energybulletin.net/node/4500 Espaldon, M.V.O., Baltazar, M.R.M. (2004). Participatory Natural Resource Management for Sustainable Agriculture. Department of Geography, College of Social Science and Philosophy, University of the Philippines. Hong, S. (2009). Beautiful Kanbula. 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