IN SITU AND EX SITU CONSERVATION OF CRITICALLY ENDANGERED MAPLES IN CHINA

The Global Trees Campaign and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing are working to conserve two very threatened species of maple. Both species are on the verge of extinction, with only a few known individuals remaining in the wild, and none in cultivation.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Acer yangbiense is a Critically Endangered maple endemic to China which was only discovered in 2002. Field surveys in 2002 and 2007 in Cangshan Mountains, north-western Yunnan, found only four isolated trees near a small village. No young trees were found. The species is thought to be naturally rare, but it is also threatened by habitat degradation and loss, poor reproduction and (now that numbers are so low) in-breeding.

In order to prevent the species going extinct, urgent action is being taken to bring it in to cultivation. Once established, ex situ populations will then be used to strengthen the known wild population. This is being combined with a local awareness work to help ensure that the remaining wild trees survive.

Acer leipoense was discovered in 1966 and is endemic to Sichuan Province, China. It is also classified as Critically Endangered and there are only four herbarium specimen records. Several botanical expeditions to the area from where these records came failed to locate the species, until recently, when a further expedition located a single individual. New efforts are now being made to find further wild trees in order to plan for their conservation.

In the longer-term, once propagation protocols have been successfully developed, both these attractive maple trees have excellent potential as ornamental trees.

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