Tam Dao National Park
Encyclopedia
Tam Dao National Park is a protected area zone in North Vietnam
. It was established in 1996, succeeding from The Conservation Forest Tam Dao which was formed in 1977. The park is about 85 km northwest of Hanoi
.
Its exact location is at 21o21’ to 21o42’ North latitude, 105o23’ to 105o44’ East longitude. It spans a large area along the Tam Dao range and administratively belongs to 6 districts and 1 city: Lap Thach
, Tam Duong
, Binh Xuyen
and the city of Vinh Yen
of Vinh Phuc province; Son Duong
of Tuyen Quang
province; Dai Tu
and Pho Yen
of Thai Nguyen
province.
, Viet Nam. It runs 80 km from north west to south east, and has more than 20 peaks with altitudes of over 1000m. The highest summit is Tam Dao North with an altitude of 1592 m. Three other peaks with beautiful scenery are Thien Thi at 1375 m, Thach Ban at 1388 m and Phu Nghia at 1300 m. Sharp peaks with sloping sides and numerous, deep partitions are characteristic of the topology.
Tam Dao town was established by French colonists at the beginning of 20th century as a tranquil resort in northern Vietnam. Several luxurious villas designed for the French still remain. It is now an enclave administratively belonging to Vinh Yen city.
The boundary of the national park is located at an altitude of 100 m around the Tam Dao range. There is a larger buffer zone (which has area of approximately 535 km2) which surrounds the national park which has an altitude below 100 m. Seventy per cent of the area of the park is covered by natural and artificial forest. The natural forest is about 220 km2 and the human altered forest is about 30 km2.
Due to the tall mountainous range that splits the area into two parts, the national park's climatic condition is divided into two areas with different rainfalls. This difference and some other factors such as the effect of human activity divide the park into some smaller climatic zones which increase the bio-diversity in the park.
Out of over 2000 plant species, 904 species are considered useful to humans. They have been classified into eight groups:
There are 42 species endemic to Tam Dao National Park and also 64 other species considered rare including Dendrobium daoensis, Camellia longicaudata, Camellia petelotii, Asarum petelotii, Molas tamdaoensis, and Paris delavayi.
Eleven of these species are endemic to Tam Dao National Park including the snake species Amphiesma angeli and Boiga multitempolaris, the amphibian Paramesotriton deloustali and eight species of insects; 22 species are endemic to North Vietnam including nine bird species, four reptiles, three amphibians and six species of insect; six are endemic to Vietnam (five bird species and one species of amphibian).
Guide books report that some of this bio-diversity can be seen in the restaurants which have been known to serve endangered species.
The second tourist location is Tay Thien site. It includes Tay Thien Quoc Mau Temple (literally The "Temple of East Heaven National Mother") and many pagodas. Along with Thien Vien Truc Lam (literally: "Dhyana Palace in Bamboo Forest") in Da Lat and Yen Tu, Thien Vien Truc Lam Tay Thien is a center of Vietnamese Buddhism.
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 –...
. It was established in 1996, succeeding from The Conservation Forest Tam Dao which was formed in 1977. The park is about 85 km northwest of Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
.
Its exact location is at 21o21’ to 21o42’ North latitude, 105o23’ to 105o44’ East longitude. It spans a large area along the Tam Dao range and administratively belongs to 6 districts and 1 city: Lap Thach
Lap Thach
Lập Thạch is a district of Vĩnh Phúc Province in the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam. This district is located in the northwestern Vĩnh Phúc, at coordinates: 105°30′ to 105°45′ E and 21°10′ to 21°30′ N, bordering Tuyên Quang on the north, districts of Tam Đảo and Tam Dương on the east,...
, Tam Duong
Tam Duong, Vinh Phuc
Tam Dương is a rural district of Vinh Phuc province in the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 94,124. The district covers an area of 107 km². The district capital lies at Hop Hoa....
, Binh Xuyen
Binh Xuyen
Bình Xuyên, often linked to its infamous leader, General Le van "Bay" Vien, was an independent military force within the Vietnamese National Army whose leaders once had lived outside the law and had sided with the Viet Minh...
and the city of Vinh Yen
Vinh Yên
Vĩnh Yên is the capital of Vinh Phuc province, in the Red River Delta region of northern Vietnam. The population is 76,650 people, the area is 50.87 km²....
of Vinh Phuc province; Son Duong
Son Duong
Sơn Dương is a rural district of Tuyen Quang province in the northeastern region of Vietnam. the district had a population of 174,118. The district covers an area of 789 km². The district capital lies at Son Duong.-References:...
of Tuyen Quang
Tuyen Quang
-History:The French post at Tuyen Quang was defended for four months against 12,000 troops of the Yunnan Army and the Black Flag Army by two companies of the French Foreign Legion during the Sino-French War...
province; Dai Tu
Dai Tu
Dai Tu is a district of Thai Nguyen Province in the northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 163,637 . The district covers an area of 578 km². The district capital lies at Dai Tu.-Administrative divisions:...
and Pho Yen
Pho Yen
Pho Yen is a district of Thai Nguyen Province in the northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 135,711. The district covers an area of 257 km²...
of Thai Nguyen
Thai Nguyen
Thái Nguyên is a city and municipality in Vietnam. It is the capital and located in center of Thai Nguyen province, in northeastern Vietnam. This is the largest city and often considered as center of Northern midlands and mountain areas...
province.
Natural condition
Tam Dao National Park is based in the Tam Dao range, which is one of the terminal spurs of a larger mountainous area in Tay BacTay Bac
Tây Bắc is one of the regions of Vietnam, located in the mountainous northwestern part of the country. It consists of four provinces: Điện Biên, Lai Châu, Sơn La, and Hòa Bình. It has a population of about two and a half million....
, Viet Nam. It runs 80 km from north west to south east, and has more than 20 peaks with altitudes of over 1000m. The highest summit is Tam Dao North with an altitude of 1592 m. Three other peaks with beautiful scenery are Thien Thi at 1375 m, Thach Ban at 1388 m and Phu Nghia at 1300 m. Sharp peaks with sloping sides and numerous, deep partitions are characteristic of the topology.
Tam Dao town was established by French colonists at the beginning of 20th century as a tranquil resort in northern Vietnam. Several luxurious villas designed for the French still remain. It is now an enclave administratively belonging to Vinh Yen city.
The boundary of the national park is located at an altitude of 100 m around the Tam Dao range. There is a larger buffer zone (which has area of approximately 535 km2) which surrounds the national park which has an altitude below 100 m. Seventy per cent of the area of the park is covered by natural and artificial forest. The natural forest is about 220 km2 and the human altered forest is about 30 km2.
Due to the tall mountainous range that splits the area into two parts, the national park's climatic condition is divided into two areas with different rainfalls. This difference and some other factors such as the effect of human activity divide the park into some smaller climatic zones which increase the bio-diversity in the park.
Flora
According to research, Tam Dao park has eight kinds of forest types distributed in different topographic and climatic areas :- The Tropical Moist Evergreen Forest covers most of Tam Dao Range below the altitude of 800 m. Some rare and precious species include Shorea chinensisShoreaShorea is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus is named after Sir John Shore, the Governor-General of the British East India Company, 1793-1798. They are native to southeast Asia, from Northern India to Malaysia, Indonesia and the...
, MicheliaMicheliaMichelia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Magnolia family . The genus includes about 50 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, native to tropical and subtropical south and southeast Asia , including southern China.-Description:The Magnoliaceae are an ancient family; fossil plants...
, CinnamomumCinnamomumCinnamomum is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of Cinnamomum have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains over 300 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of North America, Central America,...
sp. and Pavviesia annamensis. - The Subtropical Moist Evergreen Low Mountain Forest covers the areas over 800 m and includes the species of the families: LauraceaeLauraceaeThe Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
, FagaceaeFagaceaeThe family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often...
, TheaceaeTheaceaeThe Theaceae is a family of flowering plants, composed of shrubs and trees. Some botanists include the family Ternstroemiaceae within the Theaceae while others do not...
, Magroliaceae, and HamamelidaceaeHamamelidaceaeThe Hamamelidaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales, including 27 genera and about 80-90 species, all shrubs and small trees...
. In places with altitudes of over 1000 m there are some species of conifer such as Dacrycarpus imbrricatus, Fokieria hodginsii, Podocarpus neriifolicy, and Nageia fleuryiNageia fleuryiNageia fleuryi is a species of conifer in the Podocarpaceae family.It is tree 15-25 m tall, with pyramidal crown, found in Cambodia, China, Laos, and Vietnam.-Source:* Conifer Specialist Group 2000. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
. Below the canopy there are species of coffee family (RubiaceaeRubiaceaeThe Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
), MyrsinaceaeMyrsinaceaeMyrsinaceae, or the Myrsine family, is a rather large family from the order Ericales. It consists of 35 genera and about 1000 species....
family or EuphorbiaceaeEuphorbiaceaeEuphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....
family. - The High Mountain Short Forest is a dwarf variety of two aforementioned forest types including species of these families: Ercaceae, LauraceaeLauraceaeThe Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
, FagaceaeFagaceaeThe family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often...
, IlliciaceaeIlliciaceaeIlliciaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The family has been recognized by most taxonomists, at least for the past several decades....
, and AceraceaeAceraceaeAceraceae is a family of flowering plants also called the Maple Family. It contains two to four genera, depending upon the circumscription, of some 120 species of trees and shrubs. A common characteristic is that the leaves are opposite, and the fruit a schizocarp.The maples have long been known...
. - The Bamboo Forest only covers 8.84 km2 and sparsely appears at altitudes of 500 m to 800 m.
- The Restored Forest was created after the establishment the national park. Before that, this area was exploited to harvest wood by forest management and was cultivated by farmers. Now this area has been replanted with species such as Symplocos, Litsea cubebaLitsea cubebaMay Chang is an evergreen tree or shrub 5-12 meters high in the Lauraceae family. It is native to China, Indonesia, Taiwan and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is called "mountain pepper" in Mandarin and maqaw by the Atayal aborigines in Taiwan...
,and a species of XylopiaXylopiaXylopia is a genus of plant in family Annonaceae. This genus is solely composed of trees, distribution of which is pantropical . It contains the following species :* Xylopia africana, Oliv....
. - The Plantation Forest was established in the French colonial period with Pinus massonianaPinus massonianaPinus massoniana is a species of pine, native to a wide area of central and southern China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, and northern Vietnam, growing at low to moderate altitudes, mostly below 1,500 m but rarely up to 2,000 m altitude.- Description :It is an evergreen tree reaching 25-45 m in...
(Horsetail Pine). - The Bush appears in some dry and sun exposed areas including Aporosa dioica, Bridelia tomentosa, species of HelicteresHelicteresHelicteres is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae, with 141 species.-Selected species:*Helicteres apetala*Helicteres isora...
, and Phyllanthus embrica. - The Grass Land appears in areas of exploited forest, and includes Saccharum spontaneum, Thysamolema maxima, Chromolaena odorata (over 2 m) Imperata cylindrica, Paspalum scrobiculatum, and Setaria viridis (under 2 m) .
Out of over 2000 plant species, 904 species are considered useful to humans. They have been classified into eight groups:
| Group | Use | Number of species | Scale(%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Wood | 379 | 41.92 |
| II | Fruit | 25 | 2.76 |
| III | Fibre | 20 | 2.21 |
| IV | Medicine | 311 | 34.40 |
| V | Essential oil | 32 | 3.54 |
| VI | Vegetable | 30 | 3.32 |
| VII | Aesthetic purpose | 102 | 11.28 |
| VIII | Starch | 5 | 0.55 |
There are 42 species endemic to Tam Dao National Park and also 64 other species considered rare including Dendrobium daoensis, Camellia longicaudata, Camellia petelotii, Asarum petelotii, Molas tamdaoensis, and Paris delavayi.
Fauna
The national park has diverse animal species, with 840 species in total (listed below).:| Class | Number of orders | Number of families | Number of genus | Number of species |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
8 | 25 | 48 | 64 |
| Bird Bird Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from... |
16 | 50 | 140 | 239 |
| Reptile Reptile Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors... |
3 | 14 | 46 | 75 |
| Amphibian Amphibian Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods... |
3 | 7 | 11 | 28 |
| Insect Insect Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae... |
8 | 48 | 271 | 434 |
| Total | 38 | 144 | 516 | 840 |
Eleven of these species are endemic to Tam Dao National Park including the snake species Amphiesma angeli and Boiga multitempolaris, the amphibian Paramesotriton deloustali and eight species of insects; 22 species are endemic to North Vietnam including nine bird species, four reptiles, three amphibians and six species of insect; six are endemic to Vietnam (five bird species and one species of amphibian).
Guide books report that some of this bio-diversity can be seen in the restaurants which have been known to serve endangered species.
Tourism
There are two sites for tourists in the park. The first is Tam Dao town which was established at the beginning of the 20th century. Tam Down is nestled in a valley covering only 3 km2. There now remain some villas and palaces built by French colonists. It has Thac Bac (The Silver Fall), Rung Rinh peak and Tam Dao 2, a remnant of another resort built many years ago.The second tourist location is Tay Thien site. It includes Tay Thien Quoc Mau Temple (literally The "Temple of East Heaven National Mother") and many pagodas. Along with Thien Vien Truc Lam (literally: "Dhyana Palace in Bamboo Forest") in Da Lat and Yen Tu, Thien Vien Truc Lam Tay Thien is a center of Vietnamese Buddhism.