EVALUATION AND CONSERVATION OF THE WOODY PLANT DIVERSITY IN THE ZI-BEN-SHAN MOUNTAINS, YUNNAN

The Global Trees Campaign is working with Kunming Botanic Gardens to document the forest flora, evaluate conservation status of selected species and initiate ex situ and in situ conservation.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Preliminary surveys have revealed that the Zi-Ben-Shan mountains (ZBS) in west Yunnan Province of Southwest China have a great diversity of plant species, including economically important ornamentals and medicinals and rare or scientifically important plants. These include Rhododendron spp., Acer spp., Magnolia campbellii, Taxus yunnanensis, Euptelea pleiosperma, Tetracentron sinensis, Dipentodon sinicum, Cardiocrinus giganteum var. yunnanensis and Pleione forrestii, amongst many others.

Despite its great conservation importance, ZBS has been greatly disturbed by human activities, such as logging, over collection of medicinal and ornamental plants, mining and agricultural development. The plant diversity and natural habitats are now seriously threatened and conservation work has been hampered by the fact that the mountains have not been thoroughly botanically surveyed. This lack of knowledge has made it difficult to gain the support of local communities and governments for conservation of the area.

The Global Trees Campaign is working to document the woody flora of the ZBS using a series of comprehensive field surveys, focussing particularly on plant identification. Data collected during these surveys will be used to compare plant diversity with other areas of Yunnan and emphasise the conservation importance of the ZBS to local people and relevant government departments. It is hoped that this will lead to the establishment of a national or provincial level protected area.

Information gathered during these surveys will also be used to initiate propagation of the most threatened species at Kunming Botanic Garden and other Chinese botanic gardens. Seedlings produced during the project will be used to restore and re-enforce wild populations in their natural habitats. Taxa will also be evaluated for inclusion in global IUCN Red List assessments – concentrating initially on Rhododendron species.

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