The guardian of the "plant giant panda" Yabai: from "extinction in the wild" to millions of plants

Chongqing, 5 May (ZXS) -- The guardian of the "plant giant panda" Yabai: From "extinction in the wild" to millions of plants

Written by Zhang Xu

"Over the past 20 years, we have bred 174.52 million trees and returned <>,<> trees to the wild, increasing their population million-fold, and we plan to carry out ex situ conservation in the suitable area in the next few years." Recently, in Kaizhou, Chongqing, Yang Quan, director of the Xuebaoshan National Nature Reserve Management Affairs Center, told the China News Agency that as the guardian of the cypress, he will do a good job in protecting the cypress in many aspects.

As a rare and endangered gymnosperm unique to China, it flourished for a time in the Cretaceous period, but was once declared "extinct in the wild" due to the destruction of human activities, and was not rediscovered until 1999. At present, there are about 1,<> wild adult cypress trees in the world, which are only distributed in mountainous areas such as Chengkou County and Kaizhou District of Chongqing City, so they are also known as "plant giant pandas" in the industry.

In April of this year, the cypress planted for about 4 years is about 10 meters high. Photo by Zhang Xu, reporter of China News Agency

The lush greenery of the mountains, from slender seedlings to azure umbrellas... Recently, in a cliff cypress breeding scientific research base in Kaizhou District, Chongqing, the reporter saw a large number of artificially planted cypresses.

Guo Quanshui, a research expert at the Chinese Academy of Forestry, said that the cliff cypress is a good wood, light texture, good toughness, but also emitting aroma, used by people to build houses, furniture, make coffins, etc., so it has been seriously damaged, wild cliff cypress is only preserved in some inaccessible mountains.

The habitat conditions of the distribution area of Cypress are poor, the age of trees is large, the fruiting capacity is low, and the natural renewal is poor. It is reported that wild cypress has only seen group fruiting once in 2012. "The existence of reproductive disorders is one of the intrinsic factors that contribute to its endangerment." Yang Quan and Guo Quanshui both said that to save the cypress, we must first start from the expansion of the multiplication, and then return to the wild population to solve the problem of insufficient seedlings and young trees for the renewal of cypress.

Since the cliff cypress has been extinct for more than 100 years, there is no experience to learn from the expansion of the cliff cypress. To this end, they practiced and summarized and embarked on a long road of exploration.

"The study of the expansion of the cliff cypress requires calm and calm, as long as we continue to explore, we will definitely be able to overcome the difficulties." Yang Quan said that the hard work pays off, after more than 10 years of hard work by the research team, the rooting rate of Yabaoshan cuttings has increased from the initial 20% to 95%, and the Xuebaoshan National Nature Reserve has carried out cuttings breeding for three consecutive years.

"In the past, no one has studied the seedlings of cypress." Guo Quanshui said that to this end, they started with the research on seed maturity identification, seed biology, ecological characteristics and other aspects of cypress seedlings, and solved the technical difficulties of sowing seedlings one by one; Technical regulations for seedling sowing and multiplication were also compiled to guide the development of cypress expansion.

In April this year, people tending to cuttings of cypress seedlings. Photo by Zhang Xu, reporter of China News Agency

In addition to multiplication, Xuebaoshan National Nature Reserve also protects wild cypresses through monitoring, field patrols and surveys.

Xuebaoshan is rarely visited, and fires cannot be lit, and field patrols and investigations can range from a few days to a week, and you can only bring your own dry food. "In recent years, with self-heating rice and self-heating hot pot, you can eat something hot." Yang Quan said that surviving in the wild is a necessary skill for team members.

In addition, strong psychology and belief are also the "basic skills" of field work. For example, it is common to wake up from a sleeping tent and have snakes underneath, and may even be venomous snakes, because snakes are heat-repellent animals; Getting lost and cliffs "can go up, can't get down" also occasionally occur. "If it's just a normal job, it's easy to give up." A team member said.

"Most of the people who can stay in the team are passionate about this career and have feelings." Yang Quan said that the extinction of the Yabai can be said to be owed by human beings. The "reappearance" of the cliff cypress after more than 100 years of disappearance is a blessing for mankind, and it must be protected.

According to reports, in the next step, on the basis of full demonstration and preparation, Yabai will expand to Beijing and other places, and the first batch of ex situ conservation is planned to be carried out in 30 suitable areas in China. "Expanding the wild, returning to the wild, and ex-situ conservation is an important way to effectively protect the cypress." Yang Quan said that the guardians will continue to work along this route to fight for the endangered status of Yabai as soon as possible. (End)