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Animal
Species
Because of natural and human
factor, Binggou’s ecological balance is broken.
In history, there are many animal species;
however, they are extinct nowadays. We should
consider protecting nature as everyone’s responsibility.
【The yellow
sheep in Binggou】
In
Binggou, there is a rare species called
yellow sheep living on grassland. For the
mature ones, the length of body is between
100 and 150 cm. The normal weight is between
20 and 35kg, while the largest can reach
60 to 90 kg. When running, its forelimbs
and hind limbs are placed together and the
running speed can reach 90km/h. After pedaling,
its body jumps into the air with the height
of more than 2.5m, which draws a beautiful
curve.
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| This
kind of species likes to live |
The
yellow sheep |
together. In daytime, they
search food on grassland while at night;
they drink water in Huanghe River.
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The
entire body of yellow sheep can be used. Its
skin is bright and warm, which can be processing
to be fur wear. Its muscle is delicious. The
horn can be made into dedicated handicraft and
also processed to be medicine, which can cure
epilepsy, apoplexy and etc.
【Wolf】
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It
is a wild animal of the dog family with
black or brown fur, a pointed
face ,two straight ears and bushy tail.
It has five toes in front paw and
four toes in back paw. In 1970s, wolves
could be seen in Binggou.
They hunted other animals in group. Because
of hunters, nowadays,
the wolves generally disappear. |
Wolf |
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【Fox】
Fox
is a kind of wild animal of the dog family,
with
reddish brown fur, a pointed face ,and
bushy tail. In
daytime, it rests in grove or soil holes;
while at
night, it goes out to search food including
mouse,
birds and livestocks. In Binggou, foxes
mainly lives
on rabbits and mouse. |
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Foxes |
Plant
Species
In Binggou, there are rare plant
species, please see the introduction.
【Salsola ruthenica】
Salsola
ruthenica belongs to the Chenopodiaceae, which
occurs on dry plains in northern China. It has
a round, brittle stem, rigid bluish-green leaves
and small yellow flowers from June to September.
It was once collected from the seaside, burnt,
and used to make soap and glass. At one time
the juice of the fresh plant was used in folk
medicine as a diuretic. Present interest centers
on the seeds of the plant, which are abundant
since it is a perennial. They are edible, with
a nutty flavour, and the size of peppercorns.
Harvesting is simple, since shaking will separate
the seeds. The seeds are nutritious, containing
proteins, oils and starches. Protein is reported
to constitute 17 per cent of the weight and
oils, which are 93 per cent unsaturated, account
for 25 per cent. The seed is rich in lysine
and methionine, and in antioxidant tocopherols.
More than half the seed weight is carbohydrate,
which could be used for purposes other than
food. In Ningxia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region, people like to crush and press it to
be powder, which is similar to wheat powder.
【Ephedraceae】
| Ephedraceae
(very rarely monoecious) is erect or climbing
shrubs or vines. Bark grey to reddish brown,
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| cracked and fissured, often
fibrous. Branches numerous, round, whorled
to fascicled, finely longitudinally grooved,
internodes 1-10 cm. Roots generally fibrous.
Leaves mostly not photosynthetic; simple,
scalelike, opposite and decussate or whorled,
connate at base to form sheath, generally
ephemeral; resin canals absent; sed of 2-8
sets of opposite or whorled membranous bracts,
proximal bracts empty, distal bracts each
subtending a small cone composed of 2 basally
fused bracteoles subtending a sporangiophore
bearing 2-10(-15) sessile to long-stalked,
bilocular, apically dehiscent, pollen-producing
microsporangia. Pollen prolate, with 6-12
longitudinal furrows, not winged. Seed cones
1-10 in whorls at nodes of twigs, each compound
cone sessile or on short to |
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| long peduncle, composed of 2-10 sets of
overlapping, opposite |
Ephedraceae |
| or whorled, membranous or
papery to fleshy bracts, proximal bracts
empty, most distal bracts subtending axillary
cone composed of a pair of fused bracteoles
enclosing a single-integumented ovule with
integument projecting as tube from bracteole-envelope,
envelope forming a leathery "seed coat"
that is shed with seed. Wood ring porous,
lacking resin ducts, with wide multiseriate
rays and vessels in older stems. People
often have ephedraceae to cure colds. |
【Ammopiptanthus
mongolicus (Maxim. ex Kom.) Cheng f.】
| Ammopiptanthus
mongolicus is the only evergreen broadleaf
shrub endemic to the Alashan desert, northwest
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sand area of China, and can
survive -30°C or an even lower temperature
in winter. A modified solid-phase subtraction
hybridization technique was developed to
isolate and screen cDNAs whose transcripts
increased in cold-treated A. mongolicus
seedlings. Sequence analysis of the screened
clones indicated that 11 clones had coding
regions, with four of them containing a
complete open reading frame. Nine of the
11 clones shared various degrees of homology
with the genes found in the GenBank database
and the other two were unidentified sequences.
Sequence data further revealed that these
accumulated transcripts encoded: three low
molecular weight proteins (a late-embryogenesis
protein and two cold |
Ammopiptanthus
mongolicus |
acclimation responsive proteins); two
photosynthesis-related |
| proteins, (photosystem I subunit
II precursor (PsaD) and photosystem II oxygen-evolving
complex 33kDa subunit OEC33); a protease
inhibitor; an adenosine triphosphatase and
a 14-3-3 related protein. Analysis of the
function of these proteins indicated that
the low molecular weight proteins were associated
with water holding ability of cytoplasm,
photosynthesis-related proteins participated
in the adjustments of photosynthetic apparatus
to resist photoinhibition; 14-3-3 related
protein could interact with adenosine triphosphatase
to enhance ATPase activity and energy metabolism,
and protease inhibitor is involved in the
prevention of unwanted cell death caused
by reactive oxygen species. We suggest that
cold acclimation with low light intensity
in A. mongolicus is a more complex interaction
of low temperature, light, energy and signal
than that assumed previously. |
| 【Hedysarum
scoparium】
Hedysarum
scoparium is a kind of bush, which has
three main characters: flourishing roots,
strong ability of enduring dry climate
and barren land. China's deserts account
for 20% of the country's territory, and
are still expanding. The long practice
of tackling deserts has proved that protection
of desert plants and vegetation is an
essential measure to harness the desert.
Hedysarum scoparium is a good plantfor
fixation of desert sandy soil in different
habitats of the desert. It is a unique
evergreen broad-leaf plant growing in
the desert, and one of the major endangered
species under state key protection in
China. It is a pioneer plant for fixing
sand in the moving desert sandy soil,
with a great capacity of spreading seeds,
and nice feed |
|
Hedysarum
scoparium |
| for camel and sheep. |
【CaraganakorshinskiiKom】
| CaraganakorshinskiiKom
is a kind of bush, which is capable of living
in cold and dry area, including mountian,
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valley, sand, desert and
even rocks. In China, it mainly exist
in oasis in northwest. Usually, the height
is 3-5m and the width is 3-4m.
Its
root can deepen into the sand and strengthen
to fix sands. Its trunks can be used as
fuel. The seeds can be used to extract
lubricating oil. Its root, flower and
seed can also be used as medicine. Nowadays,
CaraganakorshinskiiKom decreases because
of random cutting. The government has
carried out policy to forbid this behavior.
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CaraganakorshinskiiKom |
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