Maoxian Mountain Ecosystem Research Station - China

The Maoxian Mountain Ecosystem Research Station of Chinese Academy of Sciences was established in 1986, as a member of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN), and is located in Fengyi Township of Maoxian County, Sichuan, China (103°54′E, 31°42′N, Alt.1826 m). The Station is situated in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River (an important tributary of the Yangtze River) and north of the Hengduan Mountains in the east part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau．This region is the transitional area from first class ladder to second ladder based on the big topography of China. It is also a representative region of very fragile high mountains and deep valleys in the east part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, with a difference in elevation more than 3000 m．The vertical distributions of vegetation and climate are found very obvious there. The region belongs to the typical temperate climate with annual sunshine time of 1373.8 hours, annual mean temperature 9.3℃, annual precipitation 825.2 mm and annual evaporation 968.7 mm. In the area of the station, the major soil types are brown soil and cinnamon soil. The vegetation mainly consists of artificial forests and secondary shrubs. The Qiang people live in the region.