珍稀植物濒危机制及保育策略中的营养条件

首先简要论述了珍稀植物濒危的原因、濒危机制的各种理论和研究方法，包括就地保护和迁地保护两个方面的保育策略的制定与实践。然后着重从营养条件的角度对这些理论和现状进行了分析。认为濒危物种在其历史演化过程中存在的脆弱环节以及活植物迁地保护的评价标准均与营养条件密切相关，营养条件可能是某些物种濒危机制中的一个重要组成部分；营养条件方面的研究可以为保护区设立的大小提出指导性意见；珍稀植物迁地保护过程中应密切关注营养条件的影响；营养条件在一定程度上决定了对某些物种保育策略的制定；将分子生物学与植物营养学的研究方法相结合，将能成为珍稀植物濒危机制及保育策略研究中的一种有效手段。     

大巴山国家地质公园珍稀濒危植物资源

珍稀濒危植物是生物多样性和生态系统的重要组成部分,考察研究特定地区的珍稀濒危植物对于区域生物多样性保护、生态环境质量评估及区域生态恢复都具有重要的意义。采用查阅资料、走访和路线踏勘结合植物群落样方调查等方法研究了四川大巴山国家地质公园的珍稀濒危植物种类组成和分布状况,并参照《中国种子植物区系》中划分的属的分布区类型,统计了珍稀濒危植物属的分布区类型及其在同类分布区中的占比,并探讨了该公园珍稀濒危植物的区系特征。结果表明,大巴山国家地质公园有珍稀濒危维管植物67种,隶属36科56属。被《国家重点保护野生植物名录》收录48种,其中Ⅰ级重点保护野生植物5种,Ⅱ级43种;被《中国植物红皮书》(第一批)收录的种类共45种,包括渐危种15种、濒危种7种及稀有物种14种,另有《中国植物红皮书》(第二批)8种。在这67种植物中,崖柏(Thuja sutchuensis)被列为世界自然保护联盟(International Union for Conservation of Nature,IUCN)红色植物名录的极危物种,另有濒危种6种,易危种7种,还有11种为近危或无危种。珍稀濒危植物区系成分复杂多样,共有10种分布区类型,属的分布区以温带成分为主,共41属,是热带成分的3倍之多。起源古老的孑遗物种丰富,且中国特有成分占了非常大的比例,以单型属和寡型属为主,单型属11属,寡种属7属,二者占总属数的32.1%。这与该公园古老的地质构造和奇特的地形地貌密切相关,古老的地质构造为珍稀植物提供了避难所,复杂奇特的地形地貌也为特有物种提供了生存环境。     

广西壮族自治区自然保护区建设与珍稀植物保护

广西地区自然分布有国家稀有濒危植物１２１种，是我国濒危植物资源最丰富的省份之一。本文在评价广西的自然保护区建设现状、保护区类型和结构布局以及对濒危植物资源保护情况的基础上，提出了广西的自然保护区建设和濒危植物资源有效保护的建议和对策。     

苏浙皖地区珍稀濒危植物的研究

本文对苏浙皖地区分布的64种国家第一批重点保护植物种的种群现存数量、生态地理分布、稀有濒危原因、保护价值及保护措施等进行了调查和研究,为有效地抢救和保护本区的珍稀濒危植物提供了科学依据。     

珍稀濒危动植物资源资产价值核算体系研究

珍稀濒危动植物资源是一项重要的自然资源资产类型,具有重要的科研、经济、观赏、生态等价值。就目前的管理实践来看,中国长期存在着珍稀濒危动植物资源保护和资源利用之间关系不明确和资源价值难以科学评估等问题。同时,作为一项重要自然资源资产账户,珍稀濒危物种尚未开展价值核算技术研究,给资产负债表填报及领导干部自然资源资产离任审计工作带来极大困难。文章首先在分析珍稀濒危物种质量评价体系现状资料基础上,构建了包括濒危程度、遗传状况、生长繁殖状况、物种价值4类代表性指标的质量评价体系;其次,在分析比较多种价值核算方法的基础上,依照国家发布的野生动物及其产品价格认定相关规则和标准,采用保护性支出法探寻珍稀濒危物种质量与价值之间的关系,建立了珍稀濒危物种资产实物量价值核算模型,从而构建形成珍稀濒危物种资源实物量价值核算体系。该研究创新性地将珍稀濒危物种资源质量与价格关系作为核算模型构建的出发点,以此突破资源数量决定资源价值的局限,将资源质量有效地反映到资源价值量中,从而更为系统、规范地与自然资源资产负债表体系相衔接。该研究可为自然资源资产负债表价值量填报及领导干部自然资源资产离任审计工作提供指导,也可为珍稀濒危动植物保护和管理提供技术支撑。     

中国植物园保护稀有濒危植物的现状和若干对策

针对中国植物园稀有濒危植物的保护现状和存在问题进行分析，重点讨论了稀有濒危植物在植物园迁地保护的有效性问题，涉及稀有濒危植物在植物园迁地保护的生长和适应问题、稀有濒危植物在植物园重复栽培问题、稀有濒危植物在植物园迁地保护的有效种群大小问题、科学记录系统和监测中心的建立问题。就稀有濒危植物在植物园迁地保护的可持续发展提出了若干对策与建议：以植物园为基础形成保护的网络系统；加强稀有濒危植物迁地保护规划并突出重点；加强科学记录系统和监测中心的建立；多方筹措资金，加强支持强度；加强人才培训与学术交流。     

中国特有植物猪血木的濒危原因及保护对策

猪血木(Euryodendron excelsum H.T.Chang)为中国特有的山茶科单型属猪血木属的珍稀濒危植物,现仅分布于广东省阳春县八甲镇地区,且仅残存一个居群,居群内个体数量仅100余株,该物种已被列为国家二级保护植物。物种濒危原因分析是生物多样性保护的关键环节,文章从猪血木的地理分布、生活史特性、种群分布现状及生态环境因素影响等方面分析了该物种的濒危现状,猪血木种群地理分布的局限性限制了其空间拓展;种子萌发和幼苗生长对生境要求特殊和种群现状不利于其更新和发展,人为干扰对猪血木影响严重。其濒危的主要原因是人为因素引起的生境破碎化和过度砍伐所导致的个体数量下降,文章认为现存种群和生境的保护是濒危物种保护的最有效手段,针对猪血木的濒危现状和原因,提出了就地保护,促进自然种群的繁衍更新,建立猪血木繁育基地进行迁地保护和回归引种的保护策略,以期为猪血木的保护和种群恢复提供科学的理论指导,也为中国珍稀濒危物种和生物多样性的保护提供基础资料。     

中国植物园保护稀有濒危植物的现状和若干对策

针对中国植物园稀有濒危植物的保护现状和存在问题进行分析,重点讨论了稀有濒危植物在植物园迁地保护的有效性问题,涉及稀有濒危植物在植物园迁地保护的生长和适应问题、稀有濒危植物在植物园重复栽培问题、稀有濒危植物在植物园迁地保护的有效种群大小问题、科学记录系统和监测中心的建立问题。就稀有濒危植物在植物园迁地保护的可持续发展提出了若干对策与建议:以植物园为基础形成保护的网络系统;加强稀有濒危植物迁地保护规划并突出重点;加强科学记录系统和监测中心的建立;多方筹措资金,加强支持强度;加强人才培训与学术交流。     

通过合理利用促进珍稀濒危植物保护

文章分别以银杏(Ginkgo biloba)、杜仲(Eucommia ulmoides)、水杉(Metasequoia glyptostroboides)、厚朴(Magnolia officinalis)、红豆杉(Taxus wallichiana)等珍稀濒危物种为例,从正反两方面阐述了采用合理利用手段能对珍稀濒危物种的保护起直接作用.提出应该改变人们竭泽而渔的消费观念;加强珍稀濒危物种的育种与栽培研究,提高产业化程度;加强"致死性"利用物种的替代性研究,减少对野生资源的毁灭性利用;加强立法执法,规范市场;注重产业化过程中的知识产权保护与国家资源流失问题等多个方面着手开展工作,最终达到实现利用与保护的和谐统一.     

生态保护红线分区建设模式研究——以广东大鹏半岛为例

生态保护红线是中国一项创新性的环境保护制度,但目前其划分和实施管理机制仍处于不断探索阶段。以大鹏半岛为研究区域开展生态保护红线分区模式研究。通过生态调查和GIS空间分析相结合,综合分析大鹏半岛的功能定位、地形地貌特征、典型生态系统类型、珍稀濒危动植物资源和自然遗迹的分布状况、生态系统完整性和连续性特征,构建了全面反映生态特征的生态保护红线分区建设模式,提出基本生态控制线内差别化管理的思路,探讨了分区、分类、分级的生态保护管理体系,创新了流域生态管理模式。以基本生态控制线为基础划分7个重点区域进行分类分级保护模式,重点保护面积为171.59 km2,占基本生态控制线面积的77.3%。重点保护区域包括大鹏半岛国家地质公园、大鹏半岛自然保护区、红花岭海岸森林公园、大鹏半岛中部生态廊道、坝光古银叶树Heritiera littoralis国家湿地公园、东涌红树林湿地公园、西涌香蒲桃Syzygium odoratum林自然保护小区。该模式的实施既能较好地保护大鹏半岛具有重要生态价值的资源,也能够协调经济社会发展和生态保护的关系,是深圳市基本生态控制线内分区管理制度的有益尝试,为生态保护红线的可持续性管理提供技术支撑,也为中国城市生态保护红线的划分体系和精细化管理提供参考。     

Quantifying Plant Population Persistence in Human-Dominated Landscapes

Abstract:  We assessed population performance of rare plants across a gradient from rural to urban landscapes and evaluated 2 hypotheses central to strategic conservation planning: (1) population performance declines with increasing human dominance and (2) small populations perform poorly relative to larger ones. Assessing these hypotheses is critical to strategic conservation planning. The current conservation paradigm adheres to the well-established ecology theory that small isolated populations, particularly those in human-dominated landscapes, are the least likely to succeed over the long term. Consequently, conservation planning has strongly favored large, remote targets for protection. This shift in conservation toward ecosystem-based programs and protection of populations within large, remote systems has been at the expense of protection of the rarest of the rare species, the dominant paradigm for conservation driven by the endangered species act. Yet, avoiding conservation of small populations appears to be based more on theoretical understanding and expert opinion than empiricism. We used Natural Heritage data from California in an assessment of population performance of rare plants across a landscape with an urban-rural gradient. Population performance did not decrease in urban settings or for populations that were initially small. Our results are consistent with a pattern of few species extinctions within these landscapes over the past several decades. We conclude that these populations within compromised landscapes can contribute to overall biodiversity conservation. We further argue that conservation planning for biodiversity preservation should allocate relatively more resources to protecting urban-associated plant taxa because they may provide conservation benefit beyond simply protecting isolated populations; they may be useful in building social interest in conservation.     

Traditional Plant Harvesting in Contemporary Fragmented and Urban Landscapes

Abstract: Ecosystem fragmentation and destruction can lead to restrictive administration policies on traditional harvesting by indigenous peoples from remaining ecosystem tracts. In New Zealand, concerns about endangered species and governmental policies that focus on species and ecosystem preservation have resulted in severely curtailed traditional harvesting rights. Although provision has been made for limited gathering of traditional plants from government‐administered conservation lands, it is unclear how much harvesting is undertaken on these lands and elsewhere and what this harvest might consist of. We interviewed seven expert Maori elders from the Waikato, New Zealand, to identify plant species they currently harvested and from where. We compared these data with the data we collected on permits issued for plant collecting on conservation lands in the same region. We sought to gain information on indigenous plant harvesting to determine the extent of permitted harvesting from conservation lands in the Waikato and to identify issues that might affect plant harvesting and management. Elders identified 58 species they harvest regularly or consider culturally important; over 50% of these species are harvested for medicinal use. Permit data from 1996 to 2006 indicated no apparent relationship between species of reported cultural significance and the number of permits issued for each of these species. Currently, few plant species are harvested from conservation lands, although some unofficial harvesting occurs. Elders instead reported that medicinal plants are frequently collected from urban and other public areas. They reported that plant species used for dyeing, carving, and weaving are difficult to access. Elders also discussed concerns such as spraying of roadsides, which resulted in the death of medicinal species, and use of commercial hybrids in urban planning. Local government may have an increasingly important role in supporting native traditions through urban planning, which takes account of cultural harvesting needs while potentially reducing future harvesting pressure on conservation lands. We suggest that active participation by the Māori community in the development and management of urban harvesting resources will result in positive outcomes.     

Human impacts, plant invasion, and imperiled plant species in California.

Invasive species are one of the fastest growing conservation problems. These species homogenize the world's flora and fauna, threaten rare and endemic species, and impose large economic costs. Here, we examine the distribution of 834 of the more than 1000 exotic plant taxa that have become established in California, USA. Total species richness increases with net primary productivity; however, the exotic flora is richest in low-lying coastal sites that harbor large numbers of imperiled species, while native diversity is highest in areas with high mean elevation. Weedy and invasive exotics are more tightly linked to the distribution of imperiled species than the overall pool of exotic species. Structural equation modeling suggests that while human activities, such as urbanization and agriculture, facilitate the initial invasion by exotic plants, exotics spread ahead of the front of human development into areas with high numbers of threatened native plants. The range sizes of exotic taxa are an order of magnitude smaller than for comparable native taxa. The current small range size of exotic species implies that California has a significant "invasion debt" that will be paid as exotic plants expand their range and spread throughout the state.     

Intraspecific Chromosome Number Variation: a Neglected Threat to the Conservation of Rare Plants

Abstract: The effectiveness of rare plant conservation will increase when life history, demographic, and genetic data are considered simultaneously. Inbreeding depression is a widely recognized genetic concern in rare plant conservation, and the mixing of genetically diverse populations in restoration efforts is a common remedy. Nevertheless, if populations with unrecognized intraspecific chromosome variation are crossed, progeny fitness losses will range from partial to complete sterility, and reintroductions and population augmentation of rare plants may fail. To assess the current state of cytological knowledge of threatened and endangered plants in the continental United States, we searched available resources for chromosome counts. We also reviewed recovery plans to discern whether recovery criteria potentially place listed species at risk by requiring reintroductions or population augmentation in the absence of cytological information. Over half the plants lacked a chromosome count, and when a taxon did have a count it generally originated from a sampling intensity too limited to detect intraspecific chromosome variation. Despite limited past cytological sampling, we found 11 plants with documented intraspecific cytological variation, while 8 others were ambiguous for intraspecific chromosome variation. Nevertheless, only one recovery plan addressed the chromosome differences. Inadequate within‐species cytological characterization, incomplete sampling among listed taxa, and the prevalence of interspecific and intraspecific chromosome variation in listed genera, suggests that other rare plants are likely to have intraspecific chromosome variation. Nearly 90% of all recovery plans called for reintroductions or population augmentation as part of recovery criteria despite the dearth of cytological knowledge. We recommend screening rare plants for intraspecific chromosome variation before reintroductions or population augmentation projects are undertaken to safeguard against inadvertent mixtures of incompatible cytotypes.     

Quantifying progress toward a conservation assessment for all plants

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) set an ambitious target to achieve a conservation assessment for all known plant species by 2020. We consolidated digitally available plant conservation assessments and reconciled their scientific names and assessment status to predefined standards to provide a quantitative measure of progress toward this target. The 241,919 plant conservation assessments generated represent 111,824 accepted land plant species (vascular plants and bryophytes, not algae). At least 73,081 and up to 90,321 species have been assessed at the global scale, representing 21–26% of known plant species. Of these plant species, at least 27,148 and up to 32,542 are threatened. Eighty plant families, including some of the largest, such as Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, and Rubiaceae, are underassessed and should be the focus of assessment effort if the GSPC target is to be met by 2020. Our data set is accessible online (ThreatSearch) and is a baseline that can be used to directly support other GSPC targets and plant conservation action. Although around one‐quarter of a million plant assessments have been compiled, the majority of plants are still unassessed. The challenge now is to build on this progress and redouble efforts to document conservation status of unassessed plants to better inform conservation decisions and conserve the most threatened species.     

Applying the zoo model to conservation of threatened exceptional plant species

Maintaining a living plant collection is the most common method of ex situ conservation for plant species that cannot be seed banked (i.e., exceptional species). Viability of living collections, and their value for future conservation efforts, can be limited without coordinated efforts to track and manage individuals across institutions. Using a pedigree-focused approach, the zoological community has established an inter-institutional infrastructure to support long-term viability of captive animal populations. We assessed the ability of this coordinated metacollection infrastructure to support the conservation of 4 plant species curated in living collections at multiple botanic gardens around the world. Limitations in current practices include the inability to compile, share, and analyze plant collections data at the individual level, as well as difficulty in tracking original provenance of ex situ material. The coordinated metacollection framework used by zoos can be adopted by the botanical community to improve conservation outcomes by minimizing the loss of genetic diversity in collections. We suggest actions to improve ex situ conservation of exceptional plant species, including developing a central database to aggregate data and track unique individuals of priority threatened species among institutions and adapting a pedigree-based population management tool that incorporates life-history aspects unique to plants. If approached collaboratively across regional, national, and global scales, these actions could transform ex situ conservation of threatened plant species.     

A Risk-Assessment System for Screening Out Invasive Pest Plants from Hawaii and Other Pacific Islands

Abstract:  Ecosystems of Hawaii and other Pacific Islands have been greatly affected by invasive pest plants, and ongoing, deliberate plant introductions make it likely that additional pest plants will become established. We tested the ability of a modified version of the Australian and New Zealand weed risk-assessment system to identify pest plants in Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. We used information taken from outside Hawaii to predict the behavior—"pest" or "not a pest"—of almost 200 plant species introduced to Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. The screening system initially recommended further evaluation of 24% of these species, but an additional secondary screening was applied to this group, thereby reducing the rate of indecision to only 8%. To independently test the accuracy of the screening system, we compared its decisions—pest or not a pest—to opinions of 25 expert botanists and weed scientists who had substantial field experience in Hawaii or other Pacific Islands. We asked the experts to rate each species as "major pest,""minor pest," or "not a pest" in native or managed ecosystems. The screening system correctly identified 95% of major pests and 85% of nonpests. Among minor pests identified by the experts, 33% were classified as nonpests by the screening system. Use of the screening system to assess proposed plant introductions to Hawaii or other Pacific Islands and to identify high-risk species used in horticulture and forestry would greatly reduce future pest-plant problems and allow entry of most nonpests. The screening process is objective, rapid, and cost-efficient. With minor modifications, it is likely to be useful in many parts of the world.     

Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation

Plant conservation initiatives lag behind and receive considerably less funding than animal conservation projects. We explored a potential reason for this bias: a tendency among humans to neither notice nor value plants in the environment. Experimental research and surveys have demonstrated higher preference for, superior recall of, and better visual detection of animals compared with plants. This bias has been attributed to perceptual factors such as lack of motion by plants and the tendency of plants to visually blend together but also to cultural factors such as a greater focus on animals in formal biological education. In contrast, ethnographic research reveals that many social groups have strong bonds with plants, including nonhierarchical kinship relationships. We argue that plant blindness is common, but not inevitable. If immersed in a plant‐affiliated culture, the individual will experience language and practices that enhance capacity to detect, recall, and value plants, something less likely to occur in zoocentric societies. Therefore, conservation programs can contribute to reducing this bias. We considered strategies that might reduce this bias and encourage plant conservation behavior. Psychological research demonstrates that people are more likely to support conservation of species that have human‐like characteristics and that support for conservation can be increased by encouraging people to practice empathy and anthropomorphism of nonhuman species. We argue that support for plant conservation may be garnered through strategies that promote identification and empathy with plants.     

Protection versus culture-driven exploitation of wild plant resources: the case on Changbai Mountain

Under Chinese culture it is believed that herbal medicine is always safe and wild food is always healthy. Generally, the rarer a plant, the higher its value. The booming economy in China has promoted tourism development in wilderness areas and wild medicinal and food plants are part of the attraction to tourists. Conflicts between wild plant exploitation and protection have emerged in many parts of China, such as Changbai Mountain. Changbai Mountain supports numerous medicinal and food plants but many have become rare and endangered. This paper numerically evaluates 30 plant species that have relatively high conservation value for each type (medicinal, ornamental and food), and briefly describes the uses of four to five top ranked species per type that need more protection on Changbai Mountain. This paper also addresses some tree species with important timber values on Changbai Mountain. Over 90% of China's medicinal, ornamental and food plant species, as well as valuable timber trees are found in the conifer–broadleaf mixed forest zone across the boundary of Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve. It is a major challenge to protect the native biodiversity of mixed forest on Changbai Mountain and more efforts need to be made to protect rare and endangered plant species with high economic value.