Brief Introduction of a Book

Ecological Environment and Its Protection of the Northern Slope of Karlik Mountain to the Naomaohu Basin, East Tianshan Mountains, written by Professor QIAN Yibing et al., from Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was published by Xinjiang Science and Technology Press in December 2011. The region of the northern slope of Karlik Mountain to Naomaohu Basin is located in the eastern Xinjiang with an altitude ranging from 500 to 4,888 m. The Karlik Mountain is situated easternmost of the Tianshan Mountains, and the Naomaohu Basin lies between the Tianshan Mountains and the Altay Mountains. An understanding of the ecological environments in this region is beneficial to exploring the mountain-oasis-basin system in arid regions of western China. Professor QIAN et al., based on field investigations and observations, laboratory analyses, 3S and meteorology processing of data from the past 50 years, made an integral study as well as a comprehensive and systemic summary to make birth of this scientific book.

The book comprises eight chapters, including: 1) regional physical geography, social economy and climatic regimes; 2) geomorphologic vestiges of ancient glaciers and distribution of modern glaciers, and the variation trends of glaciers; 3) distribution characteristics and utilization of water resources; 4) spatial distribution of soil physical-chemical properties, land use conditions and changes; 5) flora composition, species diversity of plant communities, and relationships between vegetation pattern and environments; 6) tourism resources and their utilization and protection; 7) ecological regionalization; 8) ecological protection and suggested measures.

The book provides an insight into the basic theories on mountain-desert vertical gradient in arid ecosystems, and meanwhile, offers a scientific perspective of natural resource utilization and environmental protection in relevant areas.