湖北赛武当自然保护区野生珍稀植物优先保护定量研究

通过对湖北赛武当国家级自然保护区内的野生珍稀植物资源进行调查,运用濒危系数、遗传价值系数和物种价值系数,计算出物种优先保护值,以确定物种濒危等级和优先保护等级。结果显示：（1）该区内共有珍稀保护植物33种,隶属于26科33属,其中易危15种、近危11种、安全种7种;（2）该区珍稀植物优先保护值的范围为0.2631~0.6985,据此得出33种珍稀植物的优先保护等级为：Ⅰ级6种、Ⅱ级13种、Ⅲ级12种、Ⅳ级2种。（3）本研究结果与相关珍稀保护植物名录的濒危等级和优先保护级别存在较大差异,这可能是由于生境破碎化和人为干扰导致大部分植物在本区受威胁程度加重,因此应强化管理。     

内蒙古珍稀濒危植物濒危现状及优先保护评估

以《中国珍稀濒危保护植物名录》、《中国植物红皮书》、《国家重点保护野生植物名录(第一批)》、《中国物种红色名录》、《中国生物多样性红色名录(高等植物卷)》、《内蒙古珍稀濒危保护植物名录》和《内蒙古珍稀濒危植物图谱》中127种内蒙古珍稀濒危植物为研究对象,通过资料收集及专家咨询,构建了内蒙古珍稀濒危植物受威胁等级、优先保护评估体系.建立了濒危系数、遗传价值系数、利用价值系数、生境系数、繁殖系数5项准则,准则下共设17个指标;运用层次分析法确定指标体系权重,计算出珍稀濒危植物濒危等级及优先保护级别.结果表明: 极危种2种、濒危种13种、易危种37种、近危种44种、无危种31种,分别占总数的1.6%、10.2%、29.1%、34.7%、24.4%.其中,受威胁种(极危、濒危和易危种)共52种,占总种数的40.9%.一级保护植物35种、二级保护植物72种、三级保护植物20种,分别占总数的27.6%、56.7%、15.8%.本评估结果与《中国生物多样性红色名录(高等植物卷)》、《内蒙古珍稀濒危保护植物名录》相比,有75种植物的濒危等级和62种植物的保护级别发生了变化.其中新增了9种植物的濒危等级评估和32种植物的保护级别.     

西藏米林县珍稀濒危药用植物优先保护评价

通过设置样方和路线踏查,对米林县的野生药用植物资源进行调查,并利用多个指标定量计算各濒危植物的优先保护值,确定其珍稀濒危物种优先保护序列,对珍稀濒危药用植物的种类、药效和入药部位多样性进行了分析。结果表明:米林县共有药用保护植物37科72属97种,分别占药用植物总科数、总属数、总种数的48.05%、32.00%、30.70%。其中,被子植物有35科69属95种,裸子植物有2科2属2种。97种珍稀濒危药用植物中,处于Ⅰ级保护的药用植物有9科11属11种,处于Ⅱ级保护的药用植物有18科25属27种,处于Ⅲ级保护的药用植物有28科46属59种。从珍稀濒危药用植物的药效来看,清热功效和补虚功效的药用植物较多,分别有32种和20种,各占濒危药用植物总种数的32.99%、20.62%;从药用部位统计,根与根茎类和全草类的药用植物分别有34种和26种,占珍稀濒危药用植物总数比例较大,分别为35.05%、26.80%。该区评估的优先保护等级和濒危等级与保护植物名录有一定差异,桃儿七在本区的保护等级由Ⅲ级升为Ⅰ级,另外有7种植物的濒危程度在本区加强。基于调查和研究结果分析了米林县珍稀濒危药用植物的致濒原因,并就此提出了一些具体的保护建议和措施。     

华中地区国家级自然保护区对药用维管植物的就地保护现状

药用植物野生资源的保护正受到学界乃至全社会的广泛关注。本研究通过收集华中地区(包括湖南、湖北和河南三省)的49个国家级自然保护区的科学考察报告、多样性研究报告以及其他相关文献资料, 结合第四次全国中药资源普查数据, 建立了华中地区国家级自然保护区内药用维管植物数据库, 并评估了这些保护区对华中地区药用维管植物的保护成效。研究发现: 华中地区国家级自然保护区内分布有6,071种药用维管植物, 就地保护比例为81.93%; 其中特有、受威胁和常用药用植物物种数分别为1,479种、224种和448种, 三者受保护比例分别为87.98%、78.87%和91.80%。有32.16%的药用维管植物(2,383种, 特有、受威胁和常用药用植物物种数分别为644种、119种和69种)仅分布于1-5个自然保护区中。森林生态系统类型的自然保护区对不同类群药用植物的保护效果均最好。神农架、金童山、莽山、星斗山及湖南舜皇山5个保护区是所有、特有以及受威胁药用植物物种多样性的热点地区, 是华中地区药用植物保护的重要区域。总体上, 华中地区现有国家级自然保护区较好地覆盖了该地区的药用维管植物, 但药用维管植物的就地保护仍不容懈怠。建议加强对该区域保护空缺物种的野外动态监测和保护。     

基于Dobson算法的中国受威胁陆栖哺乳类优先保护识别与保护现状分析

优先保护区识别对受威胁物种的多样性保护具有重要价值。基于GIS空间分析、管理及预测能力,以中国受威胁陆栖哺乳动物为对象,建立受威胁物种的分布二值网格系统;利用Dobson算法对研究区3810个网格单元进行筛除,确定全国范围下受威胁物种的优先保护区域;结合中国主要的自然保护地分布数据（国家公园和自然保护区）,采用保护空缺方法分析优先保护区内受威胁动物的保护现状。研究发现,29个50km×50km的网格单元就包含了全部的受威胁陆栖哺乳物种,其中位于喜马拉雅山东南区等地的10个网格区域覆盖有80%以上的物种,其所处的10组县级行政区内被主要自然保护地保护的土地面积占25.9%,物种数占83.6%,存在一定的保护空缺。本文采用Dobson排除算法,以小面积规则网格为基本单元,顾及到了实验结果的客观性,有助于提高优先保护区的识别效率。     

长白山高山苔原带植物濒危现状及保护级别评估

通过野外调查、文献查阅、专家咨询及市场调查等手段获得长白山高山苔原带植物生存状况、分布数量的基本数据。在查阅文献的基础上,借助专家咨询构建了长白山高山苔原带植物受危等级、优先保护定量评估体系。该体系包含3个子系统,每个子系统下设不同指标共计12个。通过专家咨询法和层次分析法相结合的方法确定各子系统及各指标的权重。共评估植物94种,其中极危种3种,濒危种6种,易危种22种,近危种42种,无危种21种;在保护的缓急程度上,属于特级保护的有5种,一级保护的有6种,二级保护的有34种,三级保护的有30种,暂缓保护的有19种。评估结果与以往的红色名录进行了比较,一些从未列入红色目录的种类在本研究结果中有所体现。相反,有些曾被列入红色名录的物种在本次评估中被列为"无危"。对评估结果与以往红色名录之间产生差异种类及原因进行了讨论。     

Threatened woody flora as an ecological indicator of large herbivore introductions

Rewilding and translocations of large herbivores for conservation purposes have increased in recent times, with numerous introductions inside and outside their native range. This study aims to analyze the use of threatened plant taxa as a possible ecological indicator of large herbivore introductions. We examined the effects of a threatened large ungulate, the Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), on both endangered and vulnerable woody taxa after its introduction in 1970. Contrary to our hypothesis, the herbivore impact on threatened woody species was higher than that found on widespread woody plants. The results reveal that 35.7% of the threatened species showed the highest possible level of herbivore damage in contrast to 6.5% for the widespread species. Threatened species were preferred over common plants, probably due to their greater palatability. Overall plant cover, including neighboring species, was also an important factor determining browsing damage and, thus, habitats with low ground cover should be particularly considered in conservation plans. Herbivore damage on common taxa should be taken with caution since they could mask unsustainable herbivore densities for threatened woody taxa or protected habitats. The use of threatened woody taxa through the studied ecological indicators (herbivore damage, plant preferences, habitat use and regeneration success) represented a useful tool to assess the sustainability of large herbivores introductions and to establish a priority conservation ranking for threatened plant species. These findings highlight the deleterious effects of overabundant ungulate populations regardless its origin (exotic or native) and the need of monitoring threatened woody taxa to better estimate the suitability and sustainability of large herbivore introductions.     

An integrated assessment of wild vegetable resources in Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China

Mwingi District lies within the Kenyan Arid and Semiarid lands (ASALs) in Eastern Province. Although some ethnobotanical surveys have been undertaken in some arid and semiarid areas of Kenya, limited studies have documented priority medicinal plants as well as local people's awareness of conservation needs of these plants. This study sought to establish the priority traditional medicinal plants used for human, livestock healthcare, and those used for protecting stored grains against pest infestation in Mwingi district. Further, the status of knowledge among the local people on the threat and conservation status of important medicinal species was documented. This study identified 18 species which were regarded as priority traditional medicinal plants for human health. In terms of priority, 8 were classified as moderate, 6 high, while 4 were ranked highest priority species. These four species are Albizia amara (Roxb.) Boiv. (Mimosacaeae), Aloe secundiflora (Engl. (Aloaceae), Acalypha fruticosa Forssk. (Euphorbiaceae) and Salvadora persica L. (Salvadoraceae). In regard to medicinal plants used for ethnoveterinary purposes, eleven species were identified while seven species were reported as being important for obtaining natural products or concoctions used for stored grain preservation especially against weevils. The data obtained revealed that there were new records of priority medicinal plants which had not been documented as priority species in the past. Results on conservation status of these plants showed that more than 80% of the respondents were unaware that wild medicinal plants were declining, and, consequently, few of them have any domesticated species. Some of the species that have been conserved on farm or deliberately allowed to persist when wild habitats are converted into agricultural lands include: Croton megalocarpus Hutch., Aloe secundiflora, Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Warburgia ugandensis Sprague, Ricinus communis L. and Terminalia brownie Fresen. A small proportion of the respondents however, were aware of the threats facing medicnal plants. Some of the plants reported as declining include, Solanum renschii Vatke (Solanaceae), Populus ilicifolia (Engl.) Rouleau (Salicaceae), Strychnos henningsii Gilg (Loganiaceae) and Rumex usambarensis (Dammer) Dammer (Polygonaceae). Considering the low level of understanding of conservation concerns for these species, there is need therefore, to build capacity among the local communities in this area particularly in regard to sustainable use of natural resources, conservation methods as well as domestication processes.     

Securing a future for China's plant biodiversity through an integrated conservation approach

The severely threatened Chinese flora urgently needs a new, well adapted to China and properly formulated conservation strategy. The present review provides a detailed conservation methodology that complements previously described guidelines for preservation of plant species with extremely small populations (PSESP) in China. This review adds to the above concept in several aspects, making it relevant to all threatened Chinese plant species. The proposed integral conservation strategy has the following crucial components: -ecoregional basis for conservation planning and implementation; -a unified scoring system that is used in regional systematic planning for reserve design, monitoring and assessment of efficiency of a reserve network, and creation of seed banks and living collections; -a focus on population demography and the presence of naturally occurring regeneration as the key criteria for defining the conservation status of a species and the appropriate major focus of the species recovery plan; -creation of multi-species living collections that preserve species genetic variation and provide material for in situ actions; -experimental translocation of threatened species into multiple locations within and outside their known range. Adopting and implementing these strategies successfully and more fully in China requires that the country changes PA legislation and improves PA management, the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) re-prioritizes the type of research that receives research funds, and local scientists improve their approach toward information sharing.     

Conservation of Chinese Theaceae species under future climate and land use changes

Aim

Climate and land use changes are two major pervasive and growing global causes of rapid changes in the distribution patterns of biodiversity, challenging the future effectiveness of protected areas (PAs), which were mainly designed based on a static view of biodiversity. Therefore, evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas for protecting the species threatened by climate and land use change is critical for future biodiversity conservation.

Location

China.

Methods

Here, using distributions of 200 Chinese Theaceae species and ensemble species distribution models, we identified species threatened by future climate and land use change (i.e. species with predicted loss of suitable habitat ≥30%) under scenarios incorporating climate change, land use change and dispersal. We then estimate the richness distribution patterns of threatened species and identify priority conservation areas and conservation gaps of the current PA network.

Results

Our results suggest that 36.30%–51.85% of Theaceae species will be threatened by future climate and land use conditions and that although the threatened species are mainly distributed at low latitudes in China under both current and future periods, the mean richness of the threatened species per grid cell will decline by 0.826–3.188 species by the 2070s. Moreover, we found that these priority conservation areas are highly fragmented and that the current PA network only covers 14.21%–20.87% of the ‘areas worth exploring’ and 6.91%–7.91% of the ‘areas worth attention’.

Main Conclusions

Our findings highlight the necessity of establishing new protected areas and ecological corridors in priority conservation areas to protect the threatened species. Moreover, our findings also highlight the importance of taking into consideration the potential threatened species under future climate and land use conditions when designating priority areas for biodiversity conservation.     

中国药用植物可持续利用战略框架简述

China is the birth-place of Traditional Chines Medicine (TCM) and has a rich diversity of medicinal plant resources. With the rapid increase in consumer demands for crude drugs and natural health products, many medicinal plant species are threatened with extinction from overexploitation and habitat destruction. To ensure the sustainable use of medicinal plant resources, we discuss in this article, a conservation framework consisting of conservation strategies, cultivation practices and various technologies. Conservation strategies include establishing in-situ and ex-situ conservation centers, setting up government policies and regulations, establishing methods for resource surveying and trade monitoring and establishing and enforcing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). In terms of technologies, we use a remote multi-level sensing system and DNA barcoding technologies as examples to demonstrate their roles in the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plant resources in China.     

The potential impact of dryland salinity on the threatened flora and fauna of New South Wales

Summary We used digital map overlays in a geographical information system (GIS) to quantify the potential impact of dryland salinity on the threatened flora and fauna of New South Wales (NSW). Geographical areas of conservation priority were identified based on richness of threatened species with distribution records overlapping dryland salinity. Two alternative schemes – Interim Biogeographical Regionalization for Australia (regions) and catchment boundaries (catchments) – were used to subdivide NSW. Sydney Basin, North Coast and South-western Slopes regions – and Hunter, Sydney, Macquarie, Murrumbidgee and Lachlan catchments – were identified as priority areas with more than 10 salinity-overlap species present. Five threatened plant species were identified as priority species due to more than half of their known distributions overlapping areas of dryland salinity. Threatened animal species of most concern had 10–50% of their records overlapping areas of dryland salinity. Our findings demonstrate that landscape exposure to dryland salinity should be used in conjunction with total richness of threatened species for prioritizing conservation of geographical areas with respect to the potential impact of dryland salinity on threatened species.     

Botanical sanctuaries for Scotland's flora

Summary

Conservation of plants is now viewed as a major priority for botanic gardens. However, few practical initiatives to conserve Scotland's threatened flora have so far been undertaken in Scotland. With the present financial uncertainty of Scotland's botanic gardens and the low priority given by them to the ex situ conservation of threatened Scottish plants, the scope for further conservation activities is limited. Long-term preservation of living material of a large number of threatened Scottish species in Scotland's botanic gardens is unlikely to be undertaken by any of them in the present climate. New practical initiatives must: 1) be self-financing; 2) have low maintenance costs; and 3) further the public role of botanic gardens in education. The best way forward is to develop areas using Scottish plants of wild origin in an informal garden setting to create unique wildlife habitats within the botanic garden itself. Threatened species could be included where the habitat allowed. Such areas would provide ideal opportunities for environmental study programmes and ecological projects and, at the same time, would widen the educational role of the botanic garden.     

The Western Ordos Plateau as a Biodiversity Center of Relic Shrubs in Arid Areas of China

The western Ordos plateau in the central-north of China is abundant in relic shrub species. Totally 54 shrub species belonging to 31 genera in 16 families are found in 10 desert shrub communities,including 10 local endemic species, five relic shrub species, and seven threatened species defined by the China Red Data Book. The percentage of the threatened shrub species to the total is as high as 12.9%, much greater than the national average (3.5%). Although a National Natural Reserve has been established since 1998 in the western Ordos plateau, the exploitation of mining resources continues to expand at a significant biological cost. Given the circumstances, future conservation efforts should focus on (1) removing coking and cement facilities from the reserve; (2) defining the boundaries of the Western Ordos National Natural Reserve encompassing all habitats where these shrub species occur; (3) implementing comprehensive plans coupling conservation with economic development; (4) enforcing ecological restoration after mining; and (5)␣establishing comprehensive population monitoring systems and promoting ex situ conservation. In addition, two local endemic relic species (Tetraena mongolica and Helianthemum ordosicum), which were defined as rare species in the second conservation priority by the China Red Data Book, should be considered as endangered species in the first conservation priority rank due to the extremely restricted distribution ranges, extremely scarce populations and more prominently, the currently increasing human disturbances caused by mining and urbanization in the core conservation area of the western Ordos plateau.     

药用植物资源利用的一种分析模型

在系统分析药用植物资源利用的各方面因素基础上,以资源利用模式为研究切入点,提出了一个基于资源利用模式和模式形成路径的分析模型（Pattem—Path Model）,用于整体分析某一药用体系中植物资源的开发利用水平和发展过程。应用该分析模型对2005版中国药典使用的药用植物资源（549种高等植物）进行了分析,结果表明：中国药典中应用的药用植物,其资源利用发展较成熟（供应持续性良好的植物资源占79％,暂不能持续供应的占21％）;但是资源利用的发展过程不尽合理（部分植物资源的栽培开展滞后于野生资源的枯竭,占40％）。该结论与已有定性评价观点相一致,并量化地体现出资源利用的发展水平和发展过程,能够推广应用到其他药用体系的资源利用分析,为药用植物资源的利用管理提供决策依据。     

Central European vascular plants requiring priority conservation measures – an analysis from national Red Lists and distribution maps

A joint analysis considering the world-wide distribution and threat status of Central European vascular plants was carried out to derive conservation priorities for threatened species. A list of 417 taxa is presented, which are threatened throughout Central Europe and/or show a predominantly Central European distribution. As a first step, all plants mentioned in Central European national Red Lists were included in a synoptic table, resulting in a total of 3255 taxa threatened or rare in at least one country. To select species with a high conservation priority, two parameters were estimated: threat status for Central Europe and a new category termed responsibility for the conservation of a species. As criteria for this second parameter, we used the proportion of Central Europe on the world range of a species, the position of Central Europe within this range, and its world-wide threat status. A simple category system including four responsibility categories is proposed. For all species selected, threat status and a responsibility assessment for the whole of Central Europe is given, as well as position and proportion of Central Europe on their world range. By comparison of threat status and responsibility, this list provides a background for assessing national conservation priorities as well as for making decisions about inclusion in international conventions on species conservation. This was shown by a comparison of the species selected using this approach with those included in the two most important European instruments for species conservation – the Berne Convention and the Habitats Directive.     

The pitfall-trap of species conservation priority setting

To elucidate the factors underlying species conservation priority setting, we analysed the relationships among species’ structural complexity, scientific attention, threatened species listing, and conservation investments at different organisational levels, including global, European, national, and sub-national. Although the literature often highlights the need to consider criteria other than extinction risk status, our results show that an excessive use of Red lists still persists in the setting of conservation priorities. We found that organismal complexity, available scientific information, and species listing combine together to create a positive feed-back loop, in which more complex organisms have a larger proportion of threatened species in the Red lists and legal lists. This bias promotes research that is devoted to understanding conservation problems as well as more funds invested to solve them. We propose that a sort of pitfall-trap is currently constraining the species conservation priority setting, in which few species, mainly threatened and better-known species, tend to receive most of the funds and policy attention. To counteract this pitfall-trap, we highlight the need to increase scientific effort on lower taxa and expand Red lists to assess lesser-known taxonomic groups as well as the need to use other criteria for species conservation prioritisation.     

Geographic distribution patterns and status assessment of threatened plants in China

Large scale heterogeneous distribution of biodiversity has become a hot topic for ecologists and conservationists. A threat status assessment combined with geographic distribution patterns of threatened plants in China has been conducted at a national scale in this study based upon a distribution database that refers to both specimen records and published references. Currently, 302 threatened plant species are cataloged in the “National Protected Key Wild Plants” in China belonging to 92 families and 194 genera. Results of the assessment according to the Categories and Criteria system of The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List indicate that three species have been assessed as Extinct in Wild (EW) while a further 79, 99 and 112 species have been assessed as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU), respectively. Distribution patterns of threatened plants were analyzed with GIS to identify areas of high species diversity. It was found that threatened plant species occur unevenly within counties and are concentrated in the following eight hotspots: the central and southern Hengduanshan mountain area; the southeast regions of Yunnan as well as Xishuangbanna and southwestern Guangxi; the southern Hainan island; the border mountainous regions of Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi provinces; the mountainous regions of southwestern Hubei and northern Hunan; southwestern Zhejiang and western Fujian; central Sichuan and southern Gansu; and the western mountains of Guangdong. Moreover, the 12 counties with the greatest number of threatened plant species represent cumulatively more than 50% of the total listed species and, therefore, are the regions in China that should be prioritized for conservation efforts. By overlapping the map of threatened plant species with the distribution of national nature reserves, a gap was identified in protected areas. This research will ultimately provide insights for prioritizing biodiversity conservation as well as processing the mechanisms of distribution patterns.     

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Lisu people in Nujiang,Northwest Yunnan,China

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out to collect information on the use of medicinal plants by the Lisu people who live in the mountainous areas of the Nujiang Canyon (Salween River Valley) in Nujiang Prefecture, northwestern Yunnan Province, China. A total of 52 medicinal plants, belonging to 32 families, were reported as being used locally for the treatment of human ailments. The scientific and Lisu names, parts used, and preparation of the plants are presented. Most of these species are wild (80%), while others are domesticated (8%) or semi-cultivated (12%). Among the 52 species, 11 species (21.2%) were reported as rare and 16 were widely commercialized in the region. Over-exploitation and deforestation are the main causes for the depletion of medicinal plants in this area. The Lisu people still mostly depend on medicinal plants for their health care. The loss and endangered status of these plants will, to a certain extent, impede their existing health care system; conservation and sustainable harvest of medicinal plants in the area are urgently needed.     

Conservation strategies for threatened medicinal plant – Barleria prionitis L. – using in vitro and ex vitro propagation techniques

Over-utilisation and continuous depletion of medicinal plants have affected their supply and loss of genetic diversity. Hence the current study is based on conservation strategies for threatened medicinal plants with special reference to Barleria prionitis L. using in vitro and ex vitro propagation techniques. We have developed here a protocol for plant regeneration of Barleria prionitis L. We have also developed an efficient system of vegetative propagation of Barleria prionitis L. through stem cuttings using revive rooting hormones. These studies can be useful for conservation strategies of this important medicinal plant.