------Program code: NS-080819-01722 (what's this?)
Source: CCTV.com
08-19-2008 09:39
Fewer younger Korean pines mean the forests will age and may one day disappear.
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Compared to the Korean pines, the problems faced by the animals are more urgent. They are having to travel farther away to collect their food.
Despite the cold, the black bear still cannot hibernate, because it has not stored enough fat.
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But it discovers the rubbish left behind by the humans.
The clouds gather over the Changbai Mountains, signaling a storm.
In the past 400 years, the King of Korean Pines has witnessed numerous storms, and it has survived them all. Its trunk is strong and flexible, and so capable of withstanding strong winds.
Roe deer can be seen in the snow. Thanks to a hunting ban, the animal population has been increasing recently.
The storm covers the young Korean pine with thick snow. This blanket will protect it from the harsh winter ahead.
The volcano’s influence has turned the river into a hot spring. Its temperature is constant throughout the year, and it never freezes in winter. It is the main source of water for the animals during the winter.
The Changbai Mountain area has more precipitation than anywhere else in Northeast China, amounting to over 1,000 millimetres a year. In the winter, the snow is over a metre deep, but the moisture cannot be absorbed directly by the trees. So the Korean pines have developed a miraculous ability, through their specially-structured leaves, to store water.
The needle leaves have a hard waterproof layer on the surface. Their stomas are deeply hidden in the troughs on the back. This structure creates a highly effective prevention against evaporation.
There is no sign of life in the harsh cold.
The Eurasian nutcracker checks its granaries every day. Even the sight of a single pine nut in the mouth of a hawfinch, makes it feel threatened.
In the granary, it is reassured to see everything intact. There is a rule in the forest: never touch the food of another animal.
It takes a nut into its mouth. But it returns it after a while, unwilling to start eating so early.
Pine nuts are what the Eurasian nutcracker eats throughout the whole year. The harvest this year has not been so plentiful, and it has to be frugal.
The tall poplar beside the Korean pine is home to many young insects, which are the food of the woodpeckers in the winter.
