Bach Ma National Park
Encyclopedia
Bach Ma National Park is a protected area in central Vietnam
, near the city of Hué
. It covers 220 km² and comprises three zones: a strictly protected core area, an administrative area and a buffer zone.
As of 2004, the park is being considered for expansion in order to create a larger protected area that will create a corridor from the border with Laos
to the sea.
in 1962. In 1986 the area was established as a national park
. The forests of the park, like Cat Tien National Park
, suffered from the use of defoliants like Agent Orange
during the Vietnam War
.
, and the topography of the park is generally very steep.
Bach ma's position, at the biogeographical
border between northern and southern Vietnam, combined with its variety of habitats, ranging from the coast to high mountains, means the park is rich in biodiversity
. It is located in an area that is considered a 'Centre of Plant Diversity' in Vietnam. The main vegetation
type is moist evergreen
forest
and montane forest, as well as areas of scrub and grassland where human disturbance has been high.
The mammal
fauna of the park is not well known, though historically it held important species such as Asian Elephant
, White-cheeked Gibbons and Red-shanked Douc langurs. It also protects important bird species, ezpecially Vietnamese endemic
s such as the Crested Argus
, the Annam Partridge, as well as the previously considered extinct Edward's Pheasant.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, near the city of Hué
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
. It covers 220 km² and comprises three zones: a strictly protected core area, an administrative area and a buffer zone.
As of 2004, the park is being considered for expansion in order to create a larger protected area that will create a corridor from the border with Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
to the sea.
History
It was first protected as a series of forest reserves in 1937, and was declared a protected area by the government of South VietnamSouth Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
in 1962. In 1986 the area was established as a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
. The forests of the park, like Cat Tien National Park
Cat Tien National Park
Cát Tiên National Park is an important national park located in the south of Vietnam, approximately 150 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. It has an area of about 720 km² and protects one of the largest areas of lowland tropical rainforests left in Vietnam.-History:Cát Tiên national park was...
, suffered from the use of defoliants like Agent Orange
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Biodiversity of Bach Ma
Bach Ma National Park is situated in the Annamite Mountains and is one of the wettest places in Vietnam. Its mountains are composed mainly of graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, and the topography of the park is generally very steep.
Bach ma's position, at the biogeographical
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
border between northern and southern Vietnam, combined with its variety of habitats, ranging from the coast to high mountains, means the park is rich in biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
. It is located in an area that is considered a 'Centre of Plant Diversity' in Vietnam. The main vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
type is moist evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
and montane forest, as well as areas of scrub and grassland where human disturbance has been high.
The mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
fauna of the park is not well known, though historically it held important species such as Asian Elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
, White-cheeked Gibbons and Red-shanked Douc langurs. It also protects important bird species, ezpecially Vietnamese endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
s such as the Crested Argus
Crested Argus
The Crested Argus is a large and spectacular peacock-like pheasant with dark-brown-spotted black and buff plumage, a pink bill, brown irises and blue skin around the eyes. The head is small. The male has a broad and greatly elongated tail of twelve feathers. He measures from in total length...
, the Annam Partridge, as well as the previously considered extinct Edward's Pheasant.