30,000 mu of wild azaleas appear in the northern part of the forest region
In the northern part of the forest region in Hulunbuir City, more than 30,000 mu of contiguous wild azalea fields have been discovered, and their vast area and sheer numbers are truly rare.
According to preliminary surveys, this contiguous field of wild azaleas is distributed within the ecological function zones of the Genhe Forestry Bureau and the Jinhe Forestry Bureau, mostly growing on hillsides and hilltops, with an area of about 31,500 mu. Due to terrain constraints, areas that could not be reached by people for measurement are not included.
"The appearance of large fields of azaleas and the propagation of broadleaf tree species are an important part of ecosystem restoration, proving that ecosystem restoration has entered its initial stage," said Zhang Chongling, a senior forestry engineer at the Forest Survey and Planning Institute who has long been engaged in the investigation and study of wild plant resources. In fact, azaleas already existed in the original ecosystem long ago. After the forest was burned, the soil became loose, producing large amounts of plant ash containing nutrients and rare elements, which increased soil fertility, while ample sunlight also provided a favorable natural environment and space for the rapid growth of shrubs, thus promoting the formation of the contiguous wild azalea fields.
The Greater Khingan Mountains forest region of Inner Mongolia is one of China's five major key state-owned forest regions, with a forestry ecological function zone of 106,700 sq km. Its natural forest area and forest stock rank first among the country's state-owned forest regions, and its annual net forest growth can account for one-tenth of the commitment made by the Chinese government to fulfill its international climate change commitments. It has complete forest, grassland and wetland natural ecosystems, safeguards the ecological security of the Hulunbuir Grassland and the major grain-producing areas of Northeast China, and is an important ecological security barrier in the north of the motherland.