Open Access

Song Yongchang

• Da es über die Vegetation Chinas bisher fast nur Literatur in chinesischer Sprache gibt, wird hier versucht, einen kurzen Überblick über ihre großräumige Gliederung im Sinne der Zonobiome von WALTER zu geben. Es werden 9 Vegetationsgebiete unterschieden. Im feuchteren Ostteil ergibt sich eine durchgehende Abfolge von Waldgebieten vom tropischen Regenwald bis zum borealen Nadelwald. Im trockeneren Westteil sind Steppen und Wüsten weit verbreitet. Die Hochgebirgs-Kältesteppen und -wüsten werden als eigene Untergebiete den entsprechenden Zonen zugeordnet. Für jedes Vegetationsgebiet werden die zonale Vegetation und ihre Abwandlungen mit der Höhe sowie die Sekundärvegetation kurz beschrieben. Durch eine sehr artenreiche Flora, unterschiedliche klimatische und topographische Verhältnisse sowie über viele Jahrtausende währende menschliche Einflüsse ist die Vegetationsgliederung Chinas sehr vielfältig und bedarf noch vieler Detail-Untersuchungen.
• In this paper the vegetation zones viz. WALTER's "Zonobiome" of China are described briefly. Because of China's very vast area and specific geographic situation, especially the influence of monsoon and cold currents, as well as different topography, first of all the distribution of vegetation of China may be divided into two parts: the woodland areas in the moist and semi-moist eastern part; the steppe and desert districts in the arid and semi-arid western inland. In the eastern part from south to north are found the following zones: I) Tropical semi-evergreen monsoon forests and rain forests zone; II) Subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests zone; III) Temperate deciduous broad-leaved forests zone; IV) Cold-temperate (boreal) needle leaved forests zone and their transitional zones: I/II) Monsoon-evergreen broad-leaved forests zone; II/III) Evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests zone; III/IV) Needle and deciduous broad-leaved mixed forests zone. In the western part from east to west we can distinguish the following zones: III/V) Temperate forest-steppe transitional zone; V) Steppe zone; VI) Desert zone. The vegetation of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau according to the eco-physiognomic character of its communities is treated separately from the corresponding vegetation zones (V + VI) and is regarded as subzone: high-cold steppe subzone (V2) and high-cold desert subzone (Vl2). The zonal vegetation types of each zone are described, also some mainly azonal vegetation types and the vertical distribution of mountain vegetation; the secondary vegetation is mentioned too. The vegetation of China and its distribution have some unique features. One of them is that the woodland extends in an unbroken expansion of continuous forest communities from tropical rain forest to boreal coniferous forest, a situation which is rarely found in other parts of the world. The same is with the desert under the severe conditions in the west. Additional the rich flora has to be mentioned: according to statistics there are about 24.500 spermatophytes, 2.600 pteridophytes and 2.100 bryophytes, all together more than 29.000 species. The long term anthropogenic effects have made the vegetation more complex. Therefore up to now the Chinese vegetation remains to be studied in detail.