CGTN documentary Land of Diversity reveals the amazing state of life and ecosystems in the Himalayas, and the profound efforts of Chinese scientists to preserve them. It’s a CGTN Tech It Out Studio production.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:01 - Billions of years of evolution.
00:04 The many forms of life on earth
00:07 have woven their destinies together.
00:09 They integrate, split, prosper and perish.
00:14 That includes us humans,
00:17 who influence and in turn are influenced by this planet.
00:22 - Woo!
00:23 - Three scientific teams
00:26 traversing into the frontier environment.
00:29 (speaking in foreign language)
00:33 - To explore the breath of life.
00:40 (speaking in foreign language)
00:44 - Dive deep into the network of life
00:49 to decipher the codes of species.
00:52 (speaking in foreign language)
00:56 (dramatic music)
01:00 - Use the most cutting edge technology
01:03 to tackle Asian mysteries.
01:05 (speaking in foreign language)
01:09 - And to find out how life can blossom
01:16 in the most unexpected places,
01:19 in the most extraordinary ways.
01:24 Right here, in this land of diversity.
01:27 (speaking in foreign language)
01:35 (dramatic music)
01:38 (speaking in foreign language)
01:42 (speaking in foreign language)
01:47 (speaking in foreign language)
02:15 - People supporting this planned kingdom
02:18 are the youngest mountain rangers in the world.
02:21 They're also among the most geologically
02:23 unstable regions on this planet.
02:26 (speaking in foreign language)
02:31 (dramatic music)
02:33 (speaking in foreign language)
02:37 (dramatic music)
02:40 (speaking in foreign language)
02:52 (speaking in foreign language)
03:06 (speaking in foreign language)
03:10 (dramatic music)
03:17 (speaking in foreign language)
03:26 (speaking in foreign language)
03:35 (dramatic music)
03:37 - Tens of millions of years ago,
03:39 the Indian subcontinent crashed into Eurasian plate.
03:43 Continental crust is thrust up
03:45 in the process of mountain formation.
03:47 After twisting and breaking,
03:51 the thickest parts of the crust
03:53 became the world's tallest mountain ranges.
03:56 But at relatively thin and fragile places,
04:00 out came water that eventually became rivers.
04:05 Currents raised downwards while mountains grew taller,
04:12 like two mighty forces locked in a competition.
04:16 Rivers with smaller volumes lost out
04:19 to the upward tectonic movement
04:21 and became trapped by the mountains.
04:24 They then formed lakes,
04:26 decorating the plateau like precious jewels.
04:30 Others with more forceful currents
04:33 carved out different path,
04:35 and majestic canyons were formed.
04:38 Water from the Indian and Pacific oceans
04:43 rushed into the deep valleys,
04:45 below inhospitable frozen fortresses
04:49 to nourish an extraordinary world.
04:51 (speaking in foreign language)
04:56 (speaking in foreign language)
05:00 (speaking in foreign language)
05:04 (speaking in foreign language)
05:09 (speaking in foreign language)
05:13 (speaking in foreign language)
05:35 (speaking in foreign language)
05:39 (speaking in foreign language)
05:58 (water rushing)
06:01 This planned kingdom hidden in Himalaya is vast,
06:11 but not all are considered ideal for botanical research.
06:15 (speaking in foreign language)
06:21 (speaking in foreign language)
06:24 (speaking in foreign language)
06:29 (speaking in foreign language)
06:33 To identify plant species,
06:58 flower is more reliable,
07:00 because other parts like leaves
07:03 could differ due to environmental changes.
07:07 But as reproduction organ,
07:09 flower need to be as stable as possible
07:11 to ensure the reproduction of offspring.
07:15 (speaking in foreign language)
07:19 (speaking in foreign language)
07:23 Today, flowering plants are the largest group
07:49 in this kingdom.
07:50 Also called angiosperms,
07:52 they dominate most ecosystems,
07:54 but they emerged rather recently
07:57 in the geological timeline.
07:58 But here, plants with Asian lineages abound.
08:03 (speaking in foreign language)
08:09 Mosses and lichens
08:11 are among the most primitive types of lives.
08:14 They're believed to be among the first
08:16 to survive on dry land,
08:18 but for them, plants' ancestor
08:20 had only experience of living in water.
08:23 So the new settlers needed to adapt to new conditions,
08:27 especially to gravity.
08:29 They could only lay low.
08:31 But plants involved
08:34 and grew proper internal structures
08:37 or vascular tissue
08:39 to fight the force and hold themselves up.
08:42 The tissues like skeleton
08:44 allow plants to grow larger and taller
08:47 and to better access resources needed for survival.
08:51 And a new species appeared
08:55 in the earth's flora collection,
08:57 ferns.
08:58 Their special features are hidden
09:03 on the backside of their leaves.
09:05 (speaking in foreign language)
09:12 (soft music)
09:15 This little sacs include countless single cells
09:24 called spores.
09:25 When spore germinate and spread,
09:28 they heavily relied on moisture
09:30 to allow the sperm to swim to the eggs
09:32 and finish fertilization.
09:34 The special need restrict their habitat.
09:40 (soft music)
09:43 To outgrow their dependency on moisture
09:45 and conquer more land,
09:47 plants needed further innovation.
09:49 (speaking in foreign language)
09:54 Furs have left a big footprint in the history of plants
10:03 as impressive as their size.
10:06 The big evolutionary innovation
10:09 came in the small coens, seeds.
10:12 (speaking in foreign language)
10:18 Both furs and pines are called conifers.
10:24 They produce coens,
10:25 which will open and expose to seeds
10:28 after reaching maturity.
10:29 Bond is to call them genus spurns
10:33 or naked seeds in Greek.
10:37 Compared with spores,
10:39 seeds has more complicated structures.
10:42 This allowed them to packing food,
10:44 including protein and other nutrients to help plants grow.
10:48 The self energy supply system is called endosperm.
10:53 So seeds can stay dormant for many years if needed
10:56 until they find the perfect conditions for germination.
11:00 That also allow them to travel far away
11:04 from their parents' plants.
11:06 (birds chirping)
11:08 Himalaya balsam has the bizarre nickname, touch me not.
11:13 At the end of the seed pods
11:15 is a sophisticated mechanical structure.
11:18 A light touch can trigger
11:19 (upbeat music)
11:22 an explosion.
11:34 Now the seeds are on their way.
11:36 Flowering plants, including balsam,
11:40 represent the final stage of a plant evolution
11:43 as we know it.
11:44 Unlike conifers, which produce seeds in open coens,
11:49 this plants grow their seeds in fruits for extra protection.
11:53 But their trump card is to flower.
11:56 Evolved reproduction begins
11:59 when those flowers release pollen
12:02 and insects are involved in this process.
12:05 To attract them, flowers diversified
12:08 with arresting colors and alluring fragrances.
12:11 But the biggest allure in the benefit package is the nectar.
12:17 The flower of salvia
12:22 has developed a sophisticated liver system.
12:25 (wind blowing)
12:28 When a bug stick his head in to drink the nectar,
12:36 the lever system is triggered,
12:39 sneaking out two stem ends from above
12:42 and quietly smearing pollen on his back.
12:46 Plants keep evolving to ensure
12:51 their reproduction and survival.
12:53 And once they secure their footing in the Himalayas,
12:57 an explosion of varieties begun.
13:22 Animals feed on a variety of flowering plants,
13:25 which in turn reap the benefits of seed dispersal.
13:30 Human utilize plants by cultivating them in vast fields,
13:35 pollinating them deliberately
13:37 and consuming them with gusto.
13:40 (chimes ringing)
13:43 When the night falls,
14:00 the most demanding task of the day is just beginning.
14:05 (speaking in foreign language)
14:09 (speaking in foreign language)
14:13 (speaking in foreign language)
14:17 (speaking in foreign language)
14:21 (speaking in foreign language)
14:37 (speaking in foreign language)
15:04 (laughing)
15:06 (speaking in foreign language)
15:16 (speaking in foreign language)
15:20 The foothills of the Himalayas are lush and verdant.
15:44 But above 4,000 meters, the higher you go,
15:48 the fewer the plants there are.
15:49 It's getting cold and windy,
15:53 and from above comes an invisible barrage
15:55 of ultraviolet light.
15:57 As the landscape gets dull,
16:00 botanists found something attractive.
16:02 Like a torch looming out of the mist.
16:08 Snow lotuses.
16:13 (speaking in foreign language)
16:17 It's rare to see so many of them together
16:26 taking up the entire slope.
16:28 Botanists believe this is how they've survived
16:32 the strong winds here.
16:33 But the most extraordinary part is this pale yellow leaves.
16:39 They are not paddles.
16:41 Botanists call them bract-like leaves.
16:44 This papery and translucent leafy bract
16:47 has fewer chlorophyll and enclosed the flowers
16:50 throughout their development.
16:52 They then fall off after the fruits and seeds mature.
16:56 That's the survival secret of the snow lotus.
17:00 (speaking in foreign language)
17:04 Scientists have found that a bract
17:09 can keep out the ultraviolet,
17:11 but allow visible and infrared light
17:14 to pass through and trap the resulting hit,
17:17 just like the glass or plastic covers of a growing house.
17:22 (speaking in foreign language)
17:26 The heat boosts pollen germination and seed development.
17:35 And for insects,
17:37 those plants might be the only cozy shelter
17:40 in an unforgiving environment.
17:43 (speaking in foreign language)
17:47 Larvae feeding on the seeds might be a downside,
18:04 but that could be outweighed
18:06 by the benefits of pollination by insects.
18:09 (speaking in foreign language)
18:14 One thing is clear,
18:23 humans did not invent the greenhouse first,
18:26 nature did.
18:27 At this altitude,
18:32 survival stories are not just written by plants.
18:36 Near Lhasa, on this dry, wind-wept steppes
18:41 at an altitude of 4,500 meters,
18:44 a plateau pika picks out of its burrow.
18:49 They look like rats,
18:51 but are actually closer to rabbits.
18:54 Summer is the most enjoyable time of the year on the plateau.
19:04 But those pikas cannot let their guard down
19:07 because they're on the manu of nearly everyone here.
19:11 Rabbits' DNA helps them escape
19:17 by taking advantage of burrow networks.
19:20 They can dig up to 2,000 holes per hat year.
19:24 On the surface,
19:27 they look like Bilbo Baggin's Hobbit hole in "The Shire,"
19:31 but the complexity is beyond imagination.
19:34 Some are simply meant for escape,
19:40 and others are more complex, cozy homes.
19:44 Danger is just one chapter of the pika survival story.
19:51 Competition is another.
19:56 It's partly the result of living in a crowded family,
20:00 but it also comes from something bigger.
20:02 Himalayan yaks,
20:06 the VIP customers of this grass buffet.
20:12 Despite their huge size difference,
20:17 scientists categorize them as rivals.
20:21 But latest findings say
20:23 their relationship developed to something more
20:27 when the short, frost-free season ends.
20:30 How the pika survives harsh winters has been a mystery.
20:35 They don't migrate, hibernate, use extra body fat,
20:42 or store grass in burrows like their American cousins.
20:46 They skip nearly all winter strategies
20:49 we have known so far.
20:54 A recent analysis of pika's gut content, however,
20:58 revealed the presence
21:01 of yak feces.
21:09 This behavior, known as interspecific coprophagy,
21:16 is quite rare among vertebrates,
21:18 but makes sense.
21:22 Yak dropping is a low-effort food source
21:25 that allows the pika both to save energy
21:28 and protect themselves from the coat and predators.
21:32 This diversified nature
21:36 can establish any unlikely relationship.
21:39 But those pikas aren't what Junko is after.
21:51 As the reptile expert,
21:53 he is looking for a much rarer species.
21:56 And it's staring back at him.
22:01 The Tibetan hot spring snakes,
22:09 the highest-living snake in the world.
22:13 The snakes' survival against the odds
22:16 is the story of the creation of the plateau itself,
22:20 which was situated at sea level eons ago.
22:25 Epic collisions between tectonic plates
22:28 created the Himalayas.
22:30 The Himalayas are the birthplace of the Tibetan hot spring snakes.
22:36 The Himalayas are the birthplace of the Tibetan hot spring snakes.
22:39 The Himalayas are the birthplace of the Tibetan hot spring snakes.
22:42 The Himalayas are the birthplace of the Tibetan hot spring snakes.
22:45 The Himalayas are the birthplace of the Tibetan hot spring snakes.
22:48 The Himalayas are the birthplace of the Tibetan hot spring snakes.
22:51 The Himalayas are the birthplace of the Tibetan hot spring snakes.
22:54 As the mountain thrust up,
22:56 ancestor of those creatures were separated from their relatives
23:01 and forced to embark on the cruel path of evolution.
23:05 Most of their coat-blooded counterparts died
23:10 due to the drop in temperature.
23:12 But they survived,
23:15 rely on a by-product of mountain formation.
23:20 Thermal springs strewed across this land.
23:23 Deep below the surface,
23:27 the mighty force of nature is still at work today.
23:31 The turmoil below is reflected in clouds of sulfurous steam
23:38 and boiling water,
23:40 feeding its energy to the nearby rivers and streams.
23:46 They use the heat from the hot springs
23:50 to help them survive the cold winter on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
23:54 Hanging out in those natural sauna looks pleasant.
23:59 But what's beyond is endless freezing wilderness.
24:03 Those cozy hot tubs are a haven,
24:09 but also a prison.
24:12 The spring also restrict their menu.
24:15 Today, the snake is taking aim at this alpine frog.
24:20 Hunting is underway.
24:38 It waits patiently and approaches silently.
24:43 A failed attempt.
25:05 Li Jiatang and Jiang Ke are members
25:08 of the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition, or STEP.
25:12 The previous mission was in the 1970s,
25:16 which involved their mentor, Professor Zhao Ermi,
25:20 a pioneer of China's reptile research.
25:24 In the early days,
25:26 we used morphology to study reptiles.
25:30 We used morphology to study reptiles.
25:36 This is the first Tibetan Plateau Scientific Exhibition.
25:40 It was very important to us,
25:43 and to the biotech community.
25:45 At the time, Tibet was basically a blank space.
25:49 Scientists from that time
25:53 started to investigate the biodiversity of the area,
25:56 and collected a lot of specimens.
25:58 Since 2000, genealogy has been rapidly developing.
26:09 We can see what genes have changed
26:13 to enable them to live in the high altitude.
26:17 We are slowly digging deeper and deeper.
26:22 Li's team was the first to decipher
26:27 the complete set of genetic information,
26:29 or genome, of hot spring snakes.
26:32 This is the high altitude snake gene.
26:35 We also have the low altitude snake gene.
26:38 By comparing the two,
26:40 I can see what changes have occurred in the genealogy.
26:44 They zoom in on one mutation,
26:47 which reveals that hot spring snakes' ancestors
26:50 survived the plateau not because they were lucky
26:53 to come across a hot spring and saddled,
26:56 but because they were genetically designed to do so.
27:00 I found a gene called TROP A1.
27:05 It has a significant mutation in the hot spring snake.
27:08 Under the same temperature,
27:10 the hot spring snake is sensitive to heat,
27:12 which is different from other snakes.
27:14 It quickly found a hot spring,
27:16 and thus found its way to the plateau.
27:18 To survive on a plateau,
27:21 thin air is another challenge,
27:23 not just for the snakes.
27:25 Li's study confirmed that a genetic mutation
27:28 to overcome low oxygen was shared among species.
27:32 The EPS1 gene is found in the Hengwen species,
27:38 such as the mawniwa and the ryan.
27:45 It was the first time that a gene was found
27:48 in a snake's endoderm.
27:51 Mutations also keep their cells stable
27:54 when exposed to ultraviolet radiation.
27:57 When other cells with zoon break down,
28:00 that trait shields the snake's skin from the unforgiving sun.
28:05 The genetic mutation is not visible to the naked eye,
28:08 so the hot spring snake is a key element.
28:11 We need to pay more attention to the low genetic mutation.
28:18 It's also important to protect the snake.
28:21 With the help of genetic tools,
28:24 scientists can now identify subtle differences
28:27 between those snakes that are similarly identical.
28:31 This reminds them that those creatures continues to evolve quietly.
28:36 Right here, right now.
28:40 [Music]
28:44 [Music]
28:47 [Speaking Chinese]
29:00 [Speaking Chinese]
29:03 [Speaking Chinese]
29:06 [Speaking Chinese]
29:13 [Speaking Chinese]
29:17 [Speaking Chinese]
29:27 [Speaking Chinese]
29:30 [Laughter]
29:38 [Speaking Chinese]
29:56 Wan and his colleagues can now visit this area more frequently
30:00 to discover new plant species.
30:03 Making that possible are these growing road networks.
30:07 Now, they're leading the team to the highest stop of their trip,
30:14 Mount Chomolungma.
30:16 At the base camp, few signs of life,
30:20 reminding people that they're really on their own.
30:24 [Music]
30:27 [Speaking Chinese]
30:31 But not all plants cower from the mountain cold and gusts.
30:41 Like this rhubarb, which can hide its flower under the leaves to keep cozy.
30:48 Or Eryophyton, growing out thick furs to stay warm.
30:53 A similar strategy makes Sosaria the highest altitude flower in the world.
30:58 And Genshin learns geometry to shield UV light.
31:03 [Speaking Chinese]
31:07 To maximize chances of survival, the best strategy is to keep a low profile.
31:22 And none is better at it than this one.
31:25 They're not mosses, but cushion plants.
31:29 [Speaking Chinese]
31:33 [Speaking Chinese]
31:37 [Speaking Chinese]
31:40 [Speaking Chinese]
32:09 Not only water, but also warmth and nutrients could be preserved within those comfy cushions.
32:15 Temperature within remain a relatively benign 5 to 7 degrees Celsius,
32:20 as outside number fluctuate dramatically over the course of a day.
32:24 Higher moisture favors microbial activity.
32:28 In some cases, soil under contain 15 times as much humans as the rocky area near it.
32:36 That's a sheltered mini ecosystem.
32:39 [Speaking Chinese]
32:43 Here, cushion plants were the last remaining oasis of life, allowing other species to thrive.
32:55 [Speaking Chinese]
33:00 [Speaking Chinese]
33:03 This is a mini garden in this frontier environment.
33:11 Scientists have found the diversity of plant species within those cushion domes could be about 30% higher than on the outside.
33:20 Their presence is key to preserving the biodiversity of alpine areas.
33:28 Paleontologists are fascinated by changes in biodiversity too,
33:33 especially the cycles of flourishing life and extinctions through Earth's history.
33:38 Scientists believe there were five great mass extinctions in history,
33:44 including those in the Permian, Triassic and Devonian periods.
33:48 And some say the sixth is underway.
33:52 [Speaking Chinese]
34:19 But even the top paleontologists have only the fuzzy view of Earth's natural history,
34:24 which they have divided into huge chunks of 10 million years.
34:29 That means they don't have detailed knowledge of any extinction or boom of life that occurred within those blocks of time.
34:38 [Speaking Chinese]
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34:50 [Speaking Chinese]
34:57 [Speaking Chinese]
35:00 Fossils are a key archive of the past.
35:04 But they had been regarded only as curiosities, beautiful but worthless,
35:09 until the 19th century, when British geologist William Smith found the code hidden in the rocks.
35:16 He discovered that superficially identical strata, or distinct layers of rocks, actually differed in their fossil content.
35:25 [Speaking Chinese]
35:29 [Speaking Chinese]
35:32 [Speaking Chinese]
35:35 [Speaking Chinese]
35:37 [Speaking Chinese]
35:40 Scientists started to realize the fossils could work as page numbers of a book, to bring order into chaos.
35:48 But they need to solve one big problem first.
35:52 [Speaking Chinese]
35:55 [Speaking Chinese]
35:58 [Speaking Chinese]
36:01 [Speaking Chinese]
36:04 As a result, it can be hard to tell whether changes in the fossil records mark real shifts,
36:10 such as mass extinctions, or are simply caused by a lack of evidence.
36:15 This gap has been filled by a recent attempt to bring Earth history into sharp focus.
36:23 Professor Fan Junxuan was leading a team to mine a new database of more than 100,000 records
36:30 belonging to over 11,000 fossil species.
36:33 They're relying on one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, the Tianhe-2.
36:39 [Speaking Chinese]
36:47 Fan hopes to unleash the intensive computing power of the Tianhe-2
36:53 to uncover the hidden pattern by integrating fossil data as much as they can
36:57 in order to compensate for the lack of fossil records.
37:01 The machine didn't disappoint him.
37:04 [Speaking Chinese]
37:15 From 10 million years to 26,000 years, that's 400 times in resolution improvement.
37:23 The result? Breathtaking details.
37:27 [Speaking Chinese]
37:35 Detail has been added to a long-known extinction,
37:39 arguably the darkest moment in Earth's natural history.
37:43 [Speaking Chinese]
37:54 [Speaking Chinese]
38:03 The findings also cast doubt on one of the five great mass extinctions in the late Devonian,
38:10 suggesting that it may not have happened at all.
38:14 [Speaking Chinese]
38:23 [Speaking Chinese]
38:34 [Speaking Chinese]
38:51 As the new curve reviews more secrets hidden from Earth's past,
38:55 scientists wish to match those ups and downs on a timescale with climatic shifts in history.
39:02 That would help us better answer one question than ever before.
39:06 Is today's climate change driving us to a new biodiversity catastrophe?
39:14 [Speaking Chinese]
39:39 Two-thirds of the trip is over, but Wang Jiang still hasn't found what he needs the most.
39:45 [Speaking Chinese]
39:50 He has been looking for Tibetan skullcaps and prostrate skullcaps,
39:55 two of the highest altitude skullcaps in the world.
39:59 [Speaking Chinese]
40:05 Since their discovery over 100 years ago, they've rarely been seen in the wild.
40:10 [Speaking Chinese]
40:17 To find a plant that tiny, the most effective way is to lock down its habitat.
40:22 [Speaking Chinese]
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41:28 [Speaking Chinese]
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41:51 [Speaking Chinese]
42:06 [Wind blowing]
42:17 [Speaking Chinese]
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42:54 As Wang Jiang predicted, once you find one…
42:58 [Speaking Chinese]
43:05 You can find them all.
43:07 [Speaking Chinese]
43:17 [Music]
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44:11 [Music]
44:28 [Music]
44:38 [Music]
44:48 [Music]
44:58 [MUSIC]