COMPOSITIONS OF δ^(18)O AND δ^(13)C IN VARIOUS CARBONATES OF CORE RM IN THE ZOIGê BASIN AND CLIMATIC SIGNIFICANCE

The hole RM, the deepest one fully obtained core in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, situated in the depositional center of the Zoire Basin (33°57′N; 102°21′E) in the northeastern QinghaiXizang Plateau with a depth of 310.46 m. From 14C dating and Paleomagnetic stratigraphic study,the core RM can date back to 900 ha B.P.. In this paper we analyzed the compositions of δ18O and δ13C in various carbonates can date (snail, obstrode, chemical Cabonate) in core RM and discussed preferably the paleoclimatic record by the proxies of δ18O and δ13C Of chemical carbonate (authicalbonate) from core RM in the past 140 ka. The results showed that the values of δ18O in various carbonates are generally identical, and the values of δ13C in it are inconsistent, while there exist better relativity. The studies also demonstrated that there was a negative correlation between δ18O and δ13C of authicabonate in core RM in the past 140 ka, showing that the changes of δ18O values were mainly relative to the water temperature. According to above, the climatic evolutionary sequence were rebuilt in the past 140 ka in the region.

Classification of plant functional types based on the nutrition traits： a case study on alpine meadow community in the Zoigê Plateau

The ecological concept of Plant Functional Types（PFTs）, which refers to the assemblage of plants with certain functional traits, has been introduced for the study of plant responses to the environment change and human disturbance. Taking the alpine meadow community in the Zoigê Plateau as a study case, this paper classified PFTs in terms of plant nutrition traits. The sequential results are as follows.（1） The main herbages in the Zoigê Plateau included 16 species in 5 families. Among the five families, Cyperaceae vegetation accounted for 81.37%of herbage area in total, while the remaining 4families occupied less than 20%. As for the species,Kobresia setchwanensis Hand.-Maizz. was dominant,accounting for 48.74% of the total area; while the remaining 51.26% was comprised of Polygonum viviparum L., Anaphalis fiavescens Hand.-Mazz.,Stipa aliena Keng and other species.（2） By using the Principal Component Analysis（PCA）, the assessment of herbages nutrition was carried out based on the comprehensive multi-index evaluation model.Polygonum viviparum L. had the highest nutritional value score（1.43）, and Stipa aliena Keng had the lowest（-1.40）. Nutritional value of herbage species had a significantly positive correlation with altitude（P＆lt;0.01） in the Zoigê Plateau.（3） Based on the nutritional values, herbages in the Zoigê Plateau could be grouped into 3 nutrition PFTs（high, medium and low） by using the Natural Breaks（Jenks） method.

Construction of Zoigê Animal Corridor Based on the Idea of Low Impact

With the rapid urbanization and construction of new roads in Zoigê County, the migration routes of many animals have been cut off, leaving a buffer zone between wetlands and mountains which suffered from industrial water pollution in the northwest of the city. Based on the analysis of site status and the concept of low impact, a Zoigê ecological corridor crossing National Highway 213 was constructed by means of four core strategies to restore and protect animal migration routes, restore original wetlands, and create new habitats, thus achieving the unity of human, animal and nature.

Methane emissions from natural and drained peatlands in the Zoigê, eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Peatlands are one of the major natural sources of methane （CH4）, but the level of CH4 efflux is uncertain, especially in alpine peatlands. In this study, CH4 emission fluxes from natural and drained peatlands on the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau, southwest China, were measured from June to October in 2013 using the opaque static chamber technique and the Fast Greenhouse Gas Analyzer （DLT-100, Los Gatos Research Corp.）. CH4 emission fluxes ranged from 2.07 to 56.33 mg m^-2 h^-1 in natural peatlands and from 0.02 to 0.42 mg m^-2 h^-1 in drained peatlands. Mean CH4 emission flux was 19.13 mg m^-2 h^-1 in natural peatlands and 0.14 mg m^-2 h^-1 in drained peatlands. These results showed that drainage led to a significant decrease in CH4 emissions. CH4 emission fluxes for all sampling plots were significantly correlated with variation in water table depth for linear （R^2 = 0.453, P 〈 0.01） and exponential functions （R^2 = 0.429, P 〈 0.01）.

A Method for Alpine Wetland Delineation and Features of Border: Zoigê Plateau, China

Accurate wetland delineation is the basis of wetland definition and mapping, and is of great importance for wetland management and research. The Zoige Plateau on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was used as a research site for research on alpine wetland delineation. Several studies have analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern and dynamics of these alpine wetlands, but none have addressed the issues of wetland boundaries. The objective of this work was to discriminate the upper boundaries of alpine wetlands by coupling ecological methods and satellite observations. The combination of Landsat 8 images and supervised classification was an effective method for rapid identification of alpine wetlands in the Zoig6 Plateau. Wet meadow was relatively stable compared with hydric soils and wetland hydrology and could be used as a primary indicator for discriminating the upper boundaries of alpine wetlands. A slope of less than 4.5° could be used as the threshold value for wetland delineation. The normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） in 434 field sites showed that a threshold value of 0.3 could distinguish grasslands from emergent marsh and wet meadow in September. The median normalized difference water index （NDWI） of emergent marsh remained more stable than that of wet meadow and grasslands during the period from September until July of the following year. The index of mean density in wet meadow zones was higher than the emergent and upland zones. Over twice the number of species occurred in the wet meadow zone compared with the emergent zone, and close to the value of upland zone. Alpine wetlands in the three reserves in 2014 covered 1175.19 kin2 with a classification accuracy of 75.6%. The combination of ecological methods and remote sensing technology will play an important role in wetland delineation at medium and small scales. The correct differentiation between wet meadow and grasslands is the key to improving the accuracy of future wetland delineation.

Structural Deformation of Zoigê Basin Along the Deep Seismic Reflection Profile

Being the core of the Songpan-Ganze block,Zoig(?) Basin is a favorable zone of oil and gas exploration. And it not only is the important deposition area of the northern Songpan-Garze in the Middle-Late Triassic, but also impacts on the formation and evolution of the structural belt.To further understand the Zoig(?) Basin, we reprocessed the 0-20.0 s data of the Tangke-Hezuo deep seismic reflection profiles across the majority

Quantitative contributions of climate change and human activities to vegetation dynamics in the Zoige Plateau from 2001 to 2020

Climate change and human activities such as overgrazing and rapid development of tourism simultaneously affected the vegetation of the Zoige Plateau.However,the spatiotemporal variations of vegetation and the relative contributions of climate change and human activities to these vegetation dynamics remain unclear.Therefore,clarifying how and why the vegetation on the Zoige Plateau changed can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable development of the region.Here,we investigate NDVI trends using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)as an indicator of vegetation greenness and distinguish the relative effects of climate changes and human activities on vegetation changes by utilizing residual trend analysis and the Geodetector.We find a tendency of vegetation greening from 2001 to 2020,with significant greening accounting for 21.44%of the entire region.However,browning area expanded rapidly after 2011.Warmer temperatures are the primary driver of vegetation changes in the Zoige Plateau.Climatic variations and human activities were responsible for 65.57%and 34.43%of vegetation greening,and 39.14%and 60.86%of vegetation browning,respectively,with browning concentrated along the Yellow,Black and White Rivers.Compared to 2001-2010,the inhibitory effect of human activity and climate fluctuations on vegetation grew dramatically between 2011 and 2020.

Research Status, Problems and Direction of Soil Organic Carbon in Zoige Peat Wetland

Peatlands,as a special type of wetland,occupy only 3%of the Earth’s surface,but bear about one-third of the world’s soil carbon storage and play an important role in the global carbon cycle.The Zoige Wetland is located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,and its peat reserves are up to 1.9 billion tons,accounting for more than 40%of the country’s peat resources,which is an important support for China to achieve the“double carbon”goal.This paper reviews the research status and storage estimation of soil organic carbon in Zoige Wetland.The statistical results show that there is a large difference in the estimation of carbon storage in the peatland of Zoige(0.43-1.42 Pg).The reasons are mainly related to marked differences in values reported for soil densities,organic carbon levels,and accu­mulation rates.There are still great uncertainties in the estimation of wetland carbon stocks,and future studies should focus on reducing soil carbon sink uncertainties,climate change,the impact of permafrost melting on carbon sink functions,the impact of degraded ecosystem restoration and sink enhancement pathways,and other greenhouse gas functions.In order to accurately reveal the current situation and future trend of carbon sink in peat wetlands,a model-multi-source observation data fusion system was constructed to complement the observation shortcomings in key ar­eas,and provide reference and support for the construction of carbon neutral ecological civilization.

Deep seismic sounding data reveal the crustal structures beneath Zoigê basin and its surrounding folded orogenic belts

Songpan-Garze massif is located at the turning position of tectonics from the nearly west-east direction to the nearly north-south direction in the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau,with Zoigê basin in the centre of the massif.In this paper,we build a crustal structure model of Zoigê basin and its surrounding folded orogenic belts using the deep seismic sounding data in this region.We also discuss structures and properties of the basement in Zoigê basin,tectonic relations between Zoigê upland basin and its surrounding folded orogenic belts,crustal deformation and thickening in the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau,and decoupling and relaxing processes in the crust.The results indicate that a special "Mesozoic basement" is formed of Triassic rocks with high density (2.65-2.75 g/cm3) and high velocity (5.6 km/s) in Zoigê basin.Songpan-Garze tectonic massif was transformed into two types of tectonic units with different crustal structures,i.e.,relatively stable Zoigê upland basin and active folded orogenic belts around the basin,in the course of the crustal material of Tibetan Plateau flowing eastward and obstructed by surrounding stable blocks.The thickening of the crust in the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau mainly occurred in the mid and lower crust,and the structure characterized by low velocities and multiple reflectors obviously appears in the folded orogenic belts around Zoigê basin.It implies that the mid and lower crust underwent a strong tectonic deformation in the folded orogenic areas.The thickness of the crust is about 50 km in Zoigê basin and the folded orogenic belts at the both southern and northern sides of Zoigê basin.The "Mountain root" cannot be identified.It is inferred that during the later orogenic period the eastwards flowing deep materials moved clockwise along the relatively relaxing southern side around the eastern tectonic knot under the obstructing of surrounding rigid massifs,and it resulted in the strong stretching action of the folded orogenic belts around Zoigê basin.

Evaluation of Ecosystem Services Value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve by Multiple Criteria

Understanding the value of ecosystem services is useful for the decision making and sustainable management of the wetlands. It would be better to integrate ecological, economic and social factors into ecosystem service valuation. The general value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve in the southwest China by integrating a social welfare weight, which is determined by a three-level analytic hierarchy process, was calculated. Through analyzing the functions, stakeholders and ecosystem services of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve, the six main services, including substance production, flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation, recreation, and biodiversity conservation,were selected; and a three-level hierarchical structure model was established. The top(goal) level of the model refers to the total ecosystem services value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve, the middle level(stakeholder level) refers to stakeholders at different scales, and the bottom level(service level) refers to individual services provided by the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve. The results indicated that the ecosystem services value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve was 320.38×10~8yuan RMB in 2011. If including the social welfare, the value increased to 2258.68×10~8yuan RMB. The value of biodiversity conservation accounted for the largest proportion, which were 53% without the social welfare and 75% with it. And without the social welfare, flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve accounted for 26%, 11% and 8% of the total value, while the proportion that substance production and recreation values were of the total value were very small. Meanwhile, with the social weight,flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation, recreation of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve accounted for 10%,13%, 1% and 1% of the total value, then the weight of substance production value was also the smallest.

Analysis of Dynamics and Driving Factors of Wetland Landscape in Zoige,Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Zoige Wetland is one of the largest plateau wetlands in the world. This paper provides a dynamic analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of the wetland in Zoige, Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, supported by ERDAS8.7 and ArcGIS9.0. It is the first comparative analysis of a system of rapidly changing wetland with landscape patterns in Zoige, using 3 classified landsat Thematic Mapper images of 1977, 1994 and 2001. The classified images were used to generate wetland distributing maps, and shape index （S）, diversity index （H）, dominance index （D）, evenness index （E）, fragmentation index （F） and fractal dimension （Fd） were calculated and analyzed spatiotemporally across pure grazing area in Zoige for each landscape type and in different periods （before 1977, during 1977-1994 and 1994-2001）, as well as the driving forces of natural and anthropogenic. The study shows that for a comprehensive understanding of the shapes and trajectories of the shrinking and desertificated land expansion of the wetland, a spatiotemporal landscape metrics analysis in different periods is an improvement than only with landscape changing rates. This type of analysis can also be used to infer underlying social, economic, and political processes that drive the observed wetland forms. The results indicate that wetland patterns can be changed over relatively short periods of time. The total area of lake reduced by 164.86 km^2, grassland extended by 141.74 km^2, semi-marsh extended by 105.94 km^2, marsh reduced by 86.00 km^2 the number of landscape patches reduced by 56, and their average area decreased by 2.68 km^2, the successions within lake, marsh, semi-marsh and grassland were found obviously. S decreased stepwise： D and F increased but H decreased： The changing rate after 1994 was 2.3 to 2.9 times greater than that before. The change of the wetland landscape patterns resulted in the interaction between socio-ceenomic and natural forces of positive and negative aspects; and natural factors affected as assistant aspect. Some important human activities in this period led to the change of the landscape patterns in this region directly. Some measurements made by government and NGO delayed the converting process partly.

A Study on the Effects of the Surrounding Faults on Water Loss in the Zoige Wetland,China

The Zoige wetland is the biggest alpine wetland in the world,and an important water resource of the Yellow River.Due to natural and human factors,the Zoige wetland has been seriously degraded.Existing studies on the Zoige wetland mainly focus on the macro features of the wetland,while the influence of the surrounding faults on the Zoige wetland degradation is rarely studied.This study uses terrain data to analyze the cover change and the water loss caused by the Wqie-Seji fault based on the distributed hydrological model.The simulated water loss demonstrates that the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) is the most important factor for inducing water loss.The fault is also a factor that cannot be neglected,which has caused 33% of the wetland water loss.Therefore,it is of importance to study the influence of the fault on the wetland degradation.

Rangeland Privatization and Its Impacts on the Zoige Wetlands on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

The high Zoige Basin （Ruoergai Plateau） on the eastern Tibetan Plateau is a fault depression formed during intensive uplifting of the Tibetan Plateau. The wetland is globally important in biodiversity and is composed of marshes, bogs, fens, wet meadows and shallow water interspersed with low hills and sub-alpine meadows. Most of the Zoige wetlands have long been one of the most important grazing lands in China. Recent rangeland policy has allowed grazing, and usable wetland areas have been being legally allocated to individuals or groups of households on a long-term lease basis. Privatizafion of the wetland has impacted the Zoige wetlands in aspects of hydrologic condition, landscape and biodiversity. The uneven spatial distribution of water resources onprivatelands has led to the practice of extracting ground water, which has decreased the perched water table in Zoige. Fencing off the rangelands and grazing on expanding sand dunes have affected landscapes. Variation in the water table has led to the changes in vegetation diversity, resulting in the changes in wildlife and aquatic diversities and ecosystem processes. Making use all year round of the pasture that was previously grazed only in summer has shrunk the daily activity space of wildlife, and the newly erected fences blocked the movement of wild animals looking for food in the snow to lower and open areas. To maintain the favorable conditions of the Zoige wetland ecosystem, the author suggests that, in addition to biophysical research and implementation of conservation practices, there is an immediate need to initiate an integrated management program, increase public awareness of wetland functions and provide better training for the local conservation staff.

New Evidence for Genesis of the Zoige Carbonate-Siliceous-Pelitic Rock Type Uranium Deposit in Southern Qinling:Discovery and Significance of the 64 Ma Intrusions

The carbonaceous-siliceous-argillitic rock type uranium deposit in the Zoige area is located in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, and has gained much attention of many geologists and ore deposit experts due to its scale, high grade and abundant associated ores. Because of the insufficient reliable dating of intrusive rocks, the relationship between mineralization and the magmatic activities is still unknown. In order to study this key scientific issue and the ore-forming processes of the Zoige uranium ore field, the LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of magmatic rocks was obtained：64.08±0.59 Ma for the granite-prophyry and ~200 Ma for the dolerite. U-Pb dating results of uraninite from the Zoige uranium ore field are mainly concentrated on ~90 Ma and ~60 Ma. According to LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon dating, the ages for the dolerite, porphyry granite and granodiorite are 200 Ma, 64.08 Ma approximately and 226.5-200.88 Ma, respectively. This indicates that the mineralization has close relationship with activities of the intermediate-acidic magma. The ages of the granite porphyry are consistent with those uraninite U-Pb dating results achieved by previous studies, which reflects the magmatic and ore-forming event during the later Yanshanian. Based on the data from previous researches, the ore bodies in the Zoige uranium ore field can be divided into two categories：the single uranium type and the uranium with polymetal mineralization type. The former formed at late Cretaceous（about 90 Ma）, while the latter, closely related to the granite porphyry, formed at early Paleogene（about 60 Ma）. And apart from ore forming elemental uranium, the latter is often associated with polymetallic elements, such as molybdenum, nickel, zinc, etc.

The Response of Vegetation Biomass to Soil Properties along Degradation Gradients of Alpine Meadow at Zoige Plateau

Alpine grassland of the Tibetan Plateau has undergone severe degradation, even desertification. However, several questions remain to be answered, especially the response mechanisms of vegetation biomass to soil properties. In this study, an experiment on degradation gradients was conducted in an alpine meadow at the Zoige Plateau in 2017. Both vegetation characteristics and soil properties were observed during the peak season of plant growth. The classification and regression tree model(CART) and structural equation modelling(SEM) were applied to screen the main factors that govern the vegetation dynamics and explore the interaction of these screened factors. Both aboveground biomass(AGB) and belowground biomass(BGB) experienced a remarkable decrease along the degradation gradients. All soil properties experienced significant variations along the degradation gradients at the 0.05 significance level. Soil physical and chemical properties explained 54.78% of the variation in vegetation biomass along the degradation gradients. AGB was mainly influenced by soil water content(SWC), soil bulk density(SBD), soil organic carbon(SOC), soil total nitrogen(STN), and pH. Soil available nitrogen(SAN), SOC and p H, had significant influence on BGB. Most soil properties had positive effects on AGB and BGB, while SBD and p H had a slightly negative effect on AGB and BGB. The correlations of SWC with AGB and BGB were relatively less significant than those of other soil properties. Our results highlighted that the soil properties played important roles in regulating vegetation dynamics along the degradation gradients and that SWC is not the main factor limiting plant growth in the humid Zoige region. Our results can provide guidance for the restoration and improvement of degraded alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.

Driving forces of land use and land cover change (LUCC) in the Zoige Wetland, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The Zoige Wetland is located in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which is highly sensitive to global environment change and human disturbance because of its high elevation and cold environment, thus, it＇s a hotspot for land use and land cover change （LUCC） research. We used Landsat MSS images from 1975, Landsat ETM images from 2000, and Landsat TM images fi：om 1990 and 2005 to assess the LUCC in the study area, using GIS techniques, as well as topographic, vegetation, and soil maps combined with field investigations. The monitoring result shows that the study area＇s environment degraded rapidly between 1975 and 2005, including wetland shrinkage from 5,308 km2 to 4,980 lan2, sandy land expansion from 112 krn2 to 137 krn2, forest land decreasing from 5,686 km2 to 5,443 km2, and grassland degradation from 12,309 km2 to 10,672 km2. According to the analysis of meteorological data and social-economic statistical data, we concluded that the LUCC in the Zoige Wetland was caused by both natural and anthropogenic factors, but human activities were primarily responsible for the observed LUCC, thereby, we suggest human behaviors must be adjusted to control environmental degradation.

Landscape Pattern Evolution Processes of Alpine Wetlands and Their Driving Factors in the Zoige Plateau of China

Zoige Plateau wetlands are located in the northeastern corner of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.The landscape pattern evolution processes in the Zoige Plateau and their driving factors were identified by analyzing the dynamic changes in landscape modification and conversion and their dynamic rates of alpine wetlands over the past four decades.The results showed that the landscape conversion between wetlands and non-wetlands mainly occurred during the period from 1966 to 1986.The marsh wetland area converted from lake and river wetlands was larger because of swamping compared to other wetland landscapes.Meanwhile,the larger area of marsh wetlands was also converted to lake wetlands more than other types of wetlands.The modification processes mainly occurred among natural wetland landscapes in the first three periods.Obvious conversions were observed between wetland and nonwetland landscapes(i.e.,forestland,grassland,and other landscapes) in the Zoige Plateau.These natural wetland landscapes such as river,lake and marsh wetlands showed a net loss over the past four decades,whereas artificial wetland landscapes(i.e.,paddy field and reservoir and pond wetlands) showed a net decrease.The annual dynamic rate of the whole wetland landscape was 0.72%,in which the annual dynamic rate of river wetlands was the highest,followed by lake wetlands,while marsh wetlands had the lowest dynamic rate.The integrated landscape dynamic rate showed a decreasing trend in the first three periods.The changes in wetland landscape patterns were comprehensively controlled by natural factors and human activities,especially human activities play an important role in changing wetland landscape patterns.

Quantifying land degradation in the Zoige Basin,NE Tibetan Plateau using satellite remote sensing data

Considerable efforts have been dedicated to desertification research in the arid and semi-arid drylands of central Asia. However,there are few quantitative studies in conjunction with proper qualitative evaluation concerning land degradation and aeolian activity in the alpine realm. In this study,spectral information from two Landsat-5 TM scenes(04.08.1994 and 28.07.2009,respectively) was combined with reference information obtained in the field to run supervised classifications of eight landscape types for both time steps. Subsequently,the temporal and spatial patterns of the alpine wetlands/grasslands evolutions in the Zoige Basin were quantified and assessed based on these two classification maps. The most conspicuous change is the sharp increase of ~627 km^2 degraded meadow. Concerning other land-covers,shallow wetland increases ~107 km^2 and aeolian sediments(mobile dunes and sand sheets) have an increase of ~30 km^2. Considering the deterioration,an obvious decrease of ~440 km^2 degraded wetland can be observed. Likewise,decrease of deep wetland(~78 km^2),humid meadow(~80 km^2) and undisturbed meadow(~88 km^2) were determined. These entire evolution matrixes undoubtedly hint a deteriorating tendency of the Zoige Basin ecosystem,which is characterized by significantly declined proportion of intact wetlands,meadow,rangeland and a considerable increase ofdegraded meadow and larger areas of mobile dunes. In particular,not only temporal alteration of the landcover categories,the spatial and topographical characteristics of the land degradation also deserves more attention. In the alpine rangelands,the higher terraces of the river channels along with their slopes are more liable to the degradation and desertification. This tendency has significantly impeded the nomadic and agriculture activities. The set of anthropozoogenic factors encompassing enclosures,overgrazing and trampling,rodent damaging and exceedingly ditching in the wetlands are assumed to be the main controlling mechanisms for the landscape degradation. A suite of strict protection policies is urgent and indispensable for self-regulation and restoration of the alpine meadow ecosystem. Controlling the size of livestock,less ditching in the rangeland,and the launching of a more strict nature reserve management by adjacent Ruoergai,Maqu and Hongyuan Counties would be practical and efficacious in achieving these objectives.

A New Species of the Genus Elaphe(Squamata: Colubridae) from Zoige County,Sichuan,China

Previous phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data reveal a likely new species of Elaphe Fitzinger from China,which forms the sister group of all extant Elaphe. One of the three original specimens is crushed and the other two are neonates,which precludes a morphological analysis. Three adult snakes(2 females,1 male) collected from Jiangzha Hot Spring in Zoige County,Sichuan,China on 26 July 2010 now facilitate the species’ description. Mitochondrial DNA nucleotide sequences of cytochrome b(cyt b),NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4(ND4),12S ribosomal RNA(12S rRNA),and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1(CO1) from the adults are identical to sequences from the crashed specimen. Interspecific uncorrected p-distances of partial CO1 gene of 26 sequences from all 11 species of Elaphe,including this new species,are large(8.5–15.2%). This new species is morphologically distinguished from all other species of Elaphe by several characters: 'M'-shaped marking on the supraoculars and adjacent frontal; four parallel series of red-brown spots on the dorsum extending from the neck to the vent; four longitudinal stripes associated with the spots; each spot is usually composed of a whole(or incomplete) red-brown scale with puce borders; spots of each stripe are similar in shape,they occur at relatively regular intervals of one or two scales,and they are slightly red-brown in color; and it has three preoculars,whereas all other species have one or two. Now Elaphe contains 11 species and this discovery highlights the need for continued exploration of temperate regions.

Oviposition Site Selection of the Plateau Frog (Nanorana pleskei) in the Zoige Wetland, China

For oviparous species, oviposition site selection influences adult reproductive success as well as the fitness of the resulting offspring. Females usually choose potential egg-laying sites depending on abundance and quality to maximize their reproductive success. We focused on the oviposition site selection of this plateau frog in Zoige wetland and investigated how the egg-laying pattern of the females influences their offspring＇s survival. We found that shallow waters, decentralized spawning patterns, and egg attachment to appropriate distance to the water surface were the main spawning strategies of Nanorana pleskei endemic to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. We argued that drought caused by increasing temperature and variable precipitation has probably influenced N. pleskei reproductive success, which may be a crucial reason for its population decline. Our findings have important significance for habitat preservation, increasing embryo survival and establishing practical conservation policies.