Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve

Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve is located in northern Jiangxi Province 50 km northeast of Nanchang City (28°11' - 29°51'N and 115°49' - 116°46'E; 12-18 m above sea level). The reserve area is 22,400 ha and is part of the larger Poyang Lake Basin, which covers approximately 390,000 ha south of the Yangtze River.

The Poyang Lake Basin includes nine lakes, which are the largest freshwater lakes in China. Due to the Yangtze River flooding cycles, the lake elevations seasonally range from 12 -19.5 m. The surrounding landscape includes marshes, wet grasslands, alluvial floodplains, and rolling hills ranging from 19.5 -37 m. The average annual rainfall is 1426 mm, with the highest amount of rainfall occurring from April to June.

Migratory Birds in Poyang Lake

Poyang Lake is well known for its great diversity of wildlife, with over 100,000 waterbirds wintering in the basin each year, including the Siberian, Hooded and Eurasian Cranes, Great Bustard, Oriental White Stork, White Spoonbill, and Bar-headed Goose. Up to 98% of the world population of Siberian Cranes winters in the Poyang Lake Basin; other species, such as the White-naped Crane, Hooded Crane, Oriental White Stork, and numerous waterbirds also use the lake as their main wintering ground. The site has many fish that provide food resources for waterbirds.

Conservation Status

Different portions of the basin have varying protection status. Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve comprises approximately 5% of the total area of the basin, while there are also several Provincial Level nature reserves within the basin.

Over-fishing and over-grazing seriously affect food resources and breeding and roosting habitats for waterbirds, as well as the entire wetland ecosystem. Illegal poaching affects bird populations, farming activities lead to reduction of the available habitat for the Siberian Crane and other migratory birds, human population pressure and poor education add to the negative impact on the migratory birds and their habitats, making wildlife protection and management activities difficult. The effects of the Three Gorge Dam on the hydrology and ecology of the lake system are not clear at present, but research is being conducted at this site to assess possible impacts on the basin and recommend actions to reduce these impacts, if required.

Data from Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands for Poyang Lake Basin (2000)