藏北高原自然资源的利用与保护

藏北高原面积约60万km²,海拔在4500m以上,为青藏高原的主体。其气候寒冷干燥,人迹稀少,以高寒草原为主的生态系统基本保存完好,其天然草地辽阔,各类可利用草地面积占土地总面积53％,为西藏最大牧区,适宜发展地毯毛羊--藏绵羊。这里栖居着许多青藏高原特有的国家一、二类保护动物及有一定经济价值动物资源。高原上湖泊众多,湖泊面积占全国湖泊总面积的1/4以上。其中许多盐湖盛产有工业开采价值的食盐、天然碱及硼、锂、钾等重要稀有元素,为我国主要矿盐产地和远景开发区。目前因草地生态脆弱和利用不当,已有4％草地退化,沙地面积扩大,野生动物栖居范围也趋缩小;少数盐矿产地环境有所污染,盐湖资源浪费较大。所以适度利用天然草地、保护野生动物和综合开发盐湖资源,防止自然生态环境的恶化乃是开发藏北高原生物矿产资源的重要战略措施。

THE UTILIZATION AND PROTECTION OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE NORTHERN TIBET PLATEAU

The Northern Tibet Plateau with an area of about 600,000 km2 and an altitude of more than 4500 m above sea level is the main part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is not inhabited in most part due to cold and dryness. So its ecosystem consisting chiefly of the alpine steppe is well-preserved and also is the largest pasture land in Tibet Autonomous Region. The areas of various kinds of usable natural grassland are suitable for the carpet-wool producing Tibet sheep and they occupy 53% of the total area of the Northern Tibet Plateau. There are a lot of wild animals and many of them are either the national first- and second-rank protected animals or the economically valuable animals. Within the plateau there are numerous-lakes and their areas occupy more than 1/4 of total area of all the lakes in China. Owing to the rich salt mine (such as glauber's salt, soda, alkeline, boron, lithium, cesium, etc.) found in the chemical residues of many salt lakes, this plateau has become an important production area and future exploitation region of mineral salt in China.Because of the weak grassland ecosystem and unreasonable utilization, now 4% of the grasslands have deteriorated, the area of sand dunes has expanded and the inhabitable range of wild animals have gradually decreased. In addition, the environment of some production areas of salt mine has been polluted and the salt mine resources are seriously destroyed. So the important strategical measures for exploiting the biological and mineral resources of the Northern Tibet Plateau should be to moderate the use of the natural grasslands, to protect the wild animals, to comprehensively develop the salt lake resources.