Forests

(en.nmg.gov.cn)

Updated: 2013-12-17

The Inner Mongolia autonomous region has one of China's largest forested areas and is an important site for ecological protection in northern China.

The Inner Mongolia autonomous region has one of China's largest forested areas and is an important site for ecological protection in northern China, with 23.66 million hectares of forest, or one-eighth of the nation's total and forest coverage of 20 percent.

The growing stock volume is 1.36 billion cubic meters, ranking fifth in China, with both commercial timber and the rare species under national protection, and it has 350 different shrub species, some of which can tolerate droughts and sandy conditions. Forests of the region originally covered the Greater Khingan Mountain range. Its timber accounts for 61.9 percent of the region's total, making it the nation's great tree treasure trove.

There are also man-made foress throughout the region, ranking No.1 in China, and covering a 6.53-million-hectare area, as of 2008.