Solutions for conservation and development of rare plant species in Pu Huong Nature Reserve

(Baonghean) - The Management Board of Pu Huong Nature Reserve is assigned to manage 40,223.6 hectares of special-use forest, which is one of the three core areas of the Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve with high biological value and a very rich and diverse flora and fauna. Every year, the Management Board of Pu Huong Nature Reserve always receives attention and support from the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An, so the investigation work is carried out regularly.

In 2016, the Management Board of Pu Huong Nature Reserve coordinated with the staff of the Institute of Forestry Biotechnology, Vietnam Forestry University to implement the Program "Investigation, monitoring of the current status and proposing solutions for conservation and development of rare plant species belonging to the Magnoliopsida - Angiosperm Division (Magnoliophyta) listed in the Vietnam Red Book in Pu Huong Nature Reserve, Nghe An Province" to propose solutions for conservation and development of rare species listed in the Vietnam Red Book. Through these investigations and monitoring rounds, the following results were obtained:

- Adding 14 species to the plant list for Pu Huong Nature Reserve, bringing the total number of discovered plant species to 1,151 species.

- Adding 3 more species to the list of rare plants belonging to the class of dicotyledons of the angiosperm phylum listed in the Vietnam Red Book (2007) in Pu Huong Nature Reserve, bringing the total number of rare plant species discovered to 47 species compared to the previously published list. Of these, 14 are endangered (EN), 30 are likely to be endangered (VU) and 3 are critically endangered (CR).

- The Magnoliopsida class listed in the Vietnam Red Book is widely distributed in the core zone.

From left to right: Ford rosewood, Chinese clematis, Chinese rosewood.

However, Pu Huong Nature Reserve is facing great difficulties in conserving rare plant species here, of which the most worrying is illegal logging, non-timber forest products and forest burning for farming, causing deforestation, forest resources are increasingly depleted, including many rare species that are threatened with extinction, reducing biodiversity, reducing the productivity of land and ecosystems and causing the greenhouse effect. To overcome the above situation, Pu Huong Nature Reserve Management Board proposes management and conservation solutions for species under monitoring in Pu Huong Nature Reserve to better protect the biodiversity resources of the area, namely:

1. Enclose and promote regeneration to restore the forest type, combined with patrolling by forest rangers and biodiversity monitoring and investigation. This combination will help the monitoring and investigation work to be continuous in order to promptly prevent illegal logging and non-timber forest products.

2. Implement a number of current investment support policies of the State to plant special-use forests with native tree species, prioritizing planting rare tree species listed in the Vietnam Red Book (2007), species with available seed sources and easy to grow such as fragrant giổi, purple khôi leaf, rotten ironwood, lau gù, ... First, plant in botanical gardens, then can be planted in special-use forests in areas with little livestock grazing.

3. Do a good job of managing scientific research activities to regularly update and supplement the plant list for Pu Huong Nature Reserve.

List of 14 plant species newly added to Pu Huong Nature Reserve in 2016:

Duong Ngoc Hung

(Director of Pu Huong Nature Reserve Management Board)