Status of the Yancheng nature reserve for Japanese cranes wintering in China

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  • 中国のタンチョウ越冬地「塩城自然保護区」における現状と課題
  • チュウゴク ノ タンチョウ エットウチ エンジョウ シゼン ホゴク ニ オケル ゲンジョウ ト カダイ

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Abstract

In our earlier surveys of the Yancheng Nature Reserve in mid-December 2003, we overlooked the status of wintering Japanese (Red-crowned) Cranes, Grus japonensis Miiller, in China. Recently, many traditional wintering places of this species have disappeared because of land development in China. As a result, the cranes now gather in this reserve, particularly at its central part, which includes a core area that has been left as relatively natural wetlands. During our survey, 78.4% of 389 cranes were found in this central area, 4.1% in the north, and 17.5% in the south. Inner, somewhat dry, lands of the reserve are largely cultivated as paddy or wheat fields and coastal tidelands with shallow water have been transformed into huge salt fields and aquacultural ponds, which are usually drained for fishery harvesting in fall and winter. Even though these developments have not only brought economical benefits to local people but have also furnished a large amount of food for wintering cranes, they have also caused potentially serious problems for the Japanese crane population, including the destruction of natural wintering habitats, excessive habituation to humans, and concentration of the population in a small area. Therefore, we propose three countermeasures: reduction of wetland development, prohibition of human interference with cranes, and dispersion of small crane flocks in cooperation with local people.

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