Annamite Research Articles

Distribution and Habitat of Assamese MacaqueMacaca assamensisin Lao PDR, Including Its use of Low-altitude Karsts

The distribution and ecology of Assamese macaque Macaca assamensis remains little studied in South-east Asia. This review collates historical and recent records to clarify its range and habitat use in Lao PDR. Contrary to many standard sources limiting Assamese macaque's range to the north and center of the country, it occurs well into the southern part. In the country's three physiographic units, it is widespread in the northern highlands and the Annamite range, but seems absent from the Mekong plain. Most records are from hill evergreen forest above 500 m, consistent with standard literature, but the species occurs down to plains level (200 m) on karsts (at least in areas south of 16°58′N). The few records from below 500 m off karst are all in ragged terrain, but even so non-karst ragged land below 500 m seems to be only rarely used. Ecological overlap with northern pig-tailed macaque M. leonina and with Rhesus macaque M. mulatta is very limited in Lao PDR. In the long-term, hunting and forest encroachment may threaten Assamese macaque in Lao PDR, but it is much less imminently at risk in the country than are most gibbon and colobine species.

Bignoniaceae Juss. 1789 family in flora of Southern Vietnam

A study on the family Bignoniaceae was conducted in Southern Vietnam, which extends from South of Truong Son range to the end of the Ca Mau peninsula; the total area is 63.487,85 square kilometres. In this study, we focused on systematics, ecology, distribution and value of the species belonging to the Bignoniaceae. Eight species and one variety of the family Bignoniaceae were found, of those, three species, Millingtonia hortensis, Fernandoa adenophylla and Dolichandrone spathacea, are listed in the red list of IUCN (2010) and Vietnamese red data book (2007) and two species, namely, Radermachera hainanensis and Stereospermum neuranthum were newly recorded, while two species, Stereospemum neuranthum and Fernandoa adenophylla are restricted range species in study area. All species of the Bignoniaceae were found in different habitats, such as, evergreen forest, semi-deciduous forest, bamboo forest, etc. Most of these are widespread species, distributed in elevation up to 900 metres and in different terrain, such as, littoral, lowland and high mountain. In addition, eleven new localities of species were also recorded, and all species of the family Bignoniaceae are recorded as medicinal plants, wood plants, ornamental plants, edible plants, etc.

Interannual Variation of the Fall Rainfall in Central Vietnam

The twenty nine years (1979-2007) rain-gauge based gridded precipitation data generated by the Asian Precipitation−Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of water resources (APHRODITE) are used to depict the rainfall climatology in Vietnam. The rain gauge observations of 163 stations in Vietnam for year 2007 are employed to validate the analysis results of the APHRODITE precipitation and to verify two distinct rainfall regimes: the October-November regime in central Vietnam and the May- October regime in the northern and southern part of this country identified with APHRODITE data. It appears that the Truong Son Range along the western border of Vietnam with Laos and Cambodia provides a natural separation of the October-November rainfall regime in central Vietnam from others. The interannual variation of the October-November rainfall regime can be well depicted by a principal mode obtained from the empirical orthogonal function analysis on the 29-year-APHRODITE precipitation. Time variation of this interannnual mode is out-of-phase with the SST(NINO3.4) index. It is inferred from this negative correlated relationship that central Vietnam is drier (wetter) when the SSTs over the NINO3.4 region is warmer (colder). It is found from the water vapor transport analysis that an anomalous cyclonic (anticyclonic) circulation over south Asia is paired with an anomalous anticylonic (cyclonic) circulation over the western north Pacific during cold (warm) episodes. Water vapor is converged (diverged) by these two anomalous circulations toward (out of ) the South China Sea and Philippine Sea west of 150°E during cold (warm) years. In turn, the anomalous cyclonic (anticyclonic) circulation in South Asia enhances (reduces) the water vapor supply to Indochina, particularly to Vietnam. Coupling with this pair of anomalous circulations, water vapor is converged (diverged) by the anomalous divergent circulation, coupling with the aforementioned pair of anomalous circulation, toward (out of ) Southeast Asia to maintain excessive (deficient) rainfall during cold (warm) episodes. Evidently, the response of the divergent circulation to the tropical Pacific SST anomalies contributes to the interannual variation of the October-November rainfall in central Vietnam.

Asian summer monsoon simulated by a global cloud‐system‐resolving model: Diurnal to intra‐seasonal variability

Interaction of convection and circulation is key to the Asian summer monsoon, but difficult to represent in global models. Here we report results from simulations for the summer of 2004 by a global cloud‐system‐resolving model, NICAM. At both 14‐ and 7‐km horizontal resolution, NICAM simulates the observed monsoon circulation patterns, and the northward propagation of precipitation. The 7‐km run simulates summer‐mean precipitation maxima in narrow bands along the western Ghats, Himalayan foothills, the Arakan Yoma highlands, and the Annamite range. Precipitation 1) is modulated by orography, 2) is affected by synoptic‐scale systems, and 3) displays a pronounced diurnal cycle, especially over Indo‐China, with its strong/weak signal propagating westward/eastward in the wet/dry phase of the intraseasonal oscillation. This set of simulations captures these intraseasonal changes of the Indian monsoon with high fidelity from June to early July. NICAM exhibits a positive bias in precipitation over the Indian Ocean, common to atmospheric models with prescribed sea surface temperature. This calls for the inclusion of ocean‐atmosphere coupling process to improve monsoon simulation skills.

Taxonomy of Naked-Toes Geckos Cyrtodactylus irregularis Complex of South Vietnam and Description of a New Species from Chu Yang Sin Natural Park (Krong Bong District, Dac Lac Province, Vietnam)

A new species of Cyrtodactylus of Gekkonidae family, assigned to the Cyrtodactylus irregularis complex on the basis of twelve specimens collected from the Chu Yang Sin National Park, Krong Bong District, Dac Lac Province, central Vietnam is described. Forms of C. irregularis complex inhabiting an extensive territory, covering the southern part of the Annamite Mountains and Central Highlands, their distribution and variation are discussed; a detailed description of the type specimens of C. irregularis complex and a description of a new species are given.

The Problem of Education in French Asia, Oceania and Australasia

This chapter deals with the problem of education in several territories separated by thousands of miles and very important geographical, ethnographical and political differences. French Indochina is a huge tropical peninsula of mountains and deltas, facing the Pacific, but part of Asia, and inhabited by at least three main peoples of ancient civilizations. The second, New Caledonia, one of the largest islands in the Pacific, has a good climate and its foreign population outnumbers its indigenous people. The third comprises the whole of the southeastern portion of the Pacific islands grouped under the name of French Establishments of Oceania. French Indochina is the eastern part of the large peninsula projected from the mainland of Asia between the Indian Ocean and the China Sea. Its area is about 282,000 square miles, more than the size of France. People like to compare this region to a bamboo pole supporting at each end a rice basket: in the North is the great delta of Tonkin formed by the Red River (Song Koi) and its tributaries; in the South the delta of the Mekong spreads its 40,000 square miles over Cambodia and Cochin-China. A band of lowlands connects them along the China Sea. The Annamite range serves as a physical barrier, isolates Annam and separates the countries of Indian culture from those of Chinese civilization. While in the mountains lives a sparse population, the deltas, which represent only 10 per cent of the superficy of the country, hold 72 per cent of its population. In the lower parts of the Red River area lives the most dense population of the world with more than 830 inhabitants to the square kilometer. There are 24 million people living in Indochina, but the different peoples are unevenly distributed, and before we study the five different political entities which form the Union Indocbinoise (Tonkin, Annam, CochinChina, Cambodia and Laos), we must, especially for a study of education, give an idea of the variety of those populations. It corresponds to -the contrasts of the country. Generally speaking there are, on the one hand, the more advanced peoples of the plains and of the Mekong Valley, and on the other hand the less developed mountain tribes.

The Tongking Delta and the Annamite House

The Tongking Delta and the Annamite House