Altai-Sayan region: Difference between revisions
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According to the ''[[New Scientist]]'', the mix of mammals in the Altai-Sayan region has been among the least changed since the last ice age, in comparison to the mammalian population of any other region on earth.<ref>Colin Barras (2014). [http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129533.800#.UuNY9bTTny8 Ice-age animals live on in Eurasian mountain range]. ''New Scientist'' (accessed 24 January 2014).</ref> |
According to the ''[[New Scientist]]'', the mix of mammals in the Altai-Sayan region has been among the least changed since the last ice age, in comparison to the mammalian population of any other region on earth.<ref>Colin Barras (2014). [http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129533.800#.UuNY9bTTny8 Ice-age animals live on in Eurasian mountain range]. ''New Scientist'' (accessed 24 January 2014).</ref> |
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The [[World Wide Fund for Nature|World Wildlife Fund]] has conducted studies of the region.<ref |
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name=mandych06>{{cite journal |
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|author=A. Mandych |
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|year=2006 |
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|title=Conditions and trends in natural systems of the Altai-Sayan ecoregion |
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|editor=Hartmut Vogtmann & Nikolai Dobretsov |editor-link= |
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|journal=Environmental security and sustainable land use - with special reference to Central Asia |pages=231-275 |
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|location= |publisher=Springer Netherlands |
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| ⚫ | |url= |doi=10.1007/1-4020-4493-3_18}}</ref> It has identified the Altai-Sayan [[ecoregion]] as a priority region for wildlife conservation.<ref name=wwfas>World Wildlife Fund, webpage describing the [http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/altai_sayan_mountain/ Altai-Sayan Mountains] (accessed 25 January 2014)</ref> According to the World Wildlife Fund, "The Altai-Sayan ecoregion is one of the last remaining untouched areas of the world."<ref name=wwfas/> Furthermore: |
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680 species of the vertebrates are registered in the Ecoregion. Among them: 77 species of fishes, 8 species of amphibians, 25 species of reptiles, 425 species of birds and 143 species of mammals.<ref name=wwfas/> |
680 species of the vertebrates are registered in the Ecoregion. Among them: 77 species of fishes, 8 species of amphibians, 25 species of reptiles, 425 species of birds and 143 species of mammals.<ref name=wwfas/> |
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Revision as of 18:44, 25 January 2014
The Altai-Sayan region refers to an area of central Asia proximate to the Altai Mountains and the Sayan Mountains. The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and are where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The Sayan Mountains are a mountain range between northwestern Mongolia and southern Siberia.
Cultural history
According to the World Wildlife Fund,
Many historians and archaeologists refer to the Altai-Sayan as the ‘cradle of civilisations’. The ancient history of the Altai-Sayan located at the crossroads between European and Asian civilizations has generated a uniquely diverse of cultural heritage. Thousands of petroglyphs, rock paintings, kurgans, mengirs and stella merge harmoniously with the natural landscape. Various monuments date to the same period as the Egyptian pyramids.[1]
Ecology
According to the New Scientist, the mix of mammals in the Altai-Sayan region has been among the least changed since the last ice age, in comparison to the mammalian population of any other region on earth.[2]
The World Wildlife Fund has conducted studies of the region.[3] It has identified the Altai-Sayan ecoregion as a priority region for wildlife conservation.[4] According to the World Wildlife Fund, "The Altai-Sayan ecoregion is one of the last remaining untouched areas of the world."[4] Furthermore:
680 species of the vertebrates are registered in the Ecoregion. Among them: 77 species of fishes, 8 species of amphibians, 25 species of reptiles, 425 species of birds and 143 species of mammals.[4]
Threats to the biodiversity of the region, according to the Fund, include poaching and illegal wildlife trade, industrial development, climate change, overgrazing and competition for pastures, unsustainable forestry, water pollution, and poverty.[4]
Science and scholarship
The Altai-Sayan region, or phenomena associated with it, have been the focus of various types of science and scholarship in diverse fields:
- Geneticists speak of the Altai-Sayan region when referring to certain human populations from that region.[5]
- Geologists describe the Altai-Sayan region as the site of a Paleo-Asian Ocean[6]
- Historians refer to the Altai-Sayan peoples[7]
References
- ^ World Wildlife Fund, webpage describing the Altai-Sayan Montane Forests (accessed 25 January 2014)
- ^ Colin Barras (2014). Ice-age animals live on in Eurasian mountain range. New Scientist (accessed 24 January 2014).
- ^ A. Mandych (2006). Hartmut Vogtmann & Nikolai Dobretsov (ed.). "Conditions and trends in natural systems of the Altai-Sayan ecoregion". Environmental security and sustainable land use - with special reference to Central Asia. Springer Netherlands: 231–275. doi:10.1007/1-4020-4493-3_18.
- ^ a b c d World Wildlife Fund, webpage describing the Altai-Sayan Mountains (accessed 25 January 2014)
- ^ Derenko, Miroslava (27 October 2005). "Contrasting patterns of Y-chromosome variation in South Siberian populations from Baikal and Altai-Sayan regions". Human Genetics. 118 (5): 591–604. doi:10.1007/s00439-005-0076-y.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ M. M. Buslov, I. Yu Saphonova, T. Watanabe, O. T. Obut, Y. Fujiwara, K. Iwata, N. N. Semakov, Y. Sugai, L. V. Smirnova & A. Yu Kazansky (2001). "Evolution of the paleo-asian ocean (altai-sayan region, central asia) and collision of possible gondwana-derived terranes with the southern marginal part of the siberian continent". Geosciences Journal. 5 (3). Springer-Verlag: 203–224. doi:10.1007/BF02910304. ISSN 1226-4806.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ James Forsyth (1994). A History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North Asian Colony 1581-1990,, ISBN 0521477719, ISBN 9780521477710 (p. 276)
External links
- Map of Altai-Sayan ecoregion showing national boundaries
- Map of Altai-Sayan region at World Wildlife Fund
- Altai-Sayan ecoregion at United Nations Environmental Programme