At the end of November 2021, during a trip to the border area of Pieng Lang (Nam Giai commune, Que Phong district), Deputy Director of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve Nguyen Van Hieu suddenly discovered a few Sa mu trees emerging from the mist in a local garden. Hieu cheered as if he had found gold. Then he made his way, weaving through the dewy grass to the Sa mu tree with a base diameter of just over 20cm and looked at it in amazement. There, Hieu told us about his aspiration to create Sa mu populations in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve.
Hieu said that in the high mountainous areas near the Vietnam - Laos border, in the communes of Tri Le, Nam Giai, Hanh Dich, Thong Thu... of Que Phong district, although not many, there are Sa mu trees. Like Hanh Dich forest, there is a whole population of 56 extremely rare Sa mu trees hundreds of years old, with exceptionally large sizes from 1.7m to nearly 4m. Because of their rarity, this Sa mu population is recognized as a National Heritage Tree Garden. And in Thong Thu forest, the section bordering Thanh Hoa province, it is also determined that there are some populations of Sa mu trees with diameters of 70 - 80cm...
According to Nguyen Van Hieu, Sa mu has the scientific name Cunninghamia konishii Hayata, belonging to the family of Cyperus; the Thai people in the West of Nghe An often call it Long Lenh tree; and the North often call Sa mu wood with the name Ngoc Am. The population of Sa mu trees in Que Phong is distributed in natural forests running along the Vietnam - Laos border, located in the habitat of evergreen, tropical monsoon forests mixed with broadleaf and coniferous trees. In the forest areas of Nam Giai, Hanh Dich, Tri Le, Thong Thu communes..., Sa mu trees are found on the altitude belts from 1,200m to 1,800m above sea level.
“Sa mu is a rare and endangered plant species that plays an important role in the ecosystem of natural forests. Therefore, along with strictly protecting the existing Sa mu populations, Pu Hoat Nature Reserve is embracing the dream of creating new varieties and planting new Sa mu populations in some areas with suitable climate and soil conditions. For example, in Pieng Lang, the fact that people can grow Sa mu trees themselves is the basis for Pu Hoat Nature Reserve to turn its dream into reality…” – Hieu confided emotionally.
The dream of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve did not end like a story. That was nearly a year later, in mid-October 2022, we were informed by Nguyen Van Hieu that he returned to Pieng Lang with the Que Phong District Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Committee. Over the phone, Hieu excitedly said: "We have created a Sa mu variety, it is very beautiful. Now I am going to Pieng Lang to mobilize people to join in planting Sa mu trees that Pu Hoat Nature Reserve has propagated...".
The information from Hieu was so interesting, so a few days later we went back to Que Phong. And at the Na Chang Forest Protection Management Station (Tien Phong commune), we saw the Sa mu seedlings. At 9 months old, the pretty Sa mu tree is almost like a young pine tree with a height of about 20cm, balanced, the base diameter is about 3-4mm, the leaves are like long, flat, dark green needles, the straight trunk has 3-4 branches. According to technical officer Nguyen Dang Tung, to have these Sa mu trees, they have to go back to the Hanh Dich border forest, choose the biggest Sa mu trees to harvest the fruit, separate the seeds, and plant them. The story of harvesting the fruit, separating the seeds, planting... to have the Sa mu seedlings that he told, is a very interesting process.
That is, the seeds of the Sa mu have essential oils, so if you wait until the fruit dries and falls naturally before picking it, the quality will be poor, and you need to collect fresh fruit. But Sa mu is a tree that is so big that several people can hug it, and it is over 40m high, so climbing to pick it is impossible. After climbing uphill for 5-7 hours, looking at the tall and majestic Sa mu trees but not being able to pick the fruit, the brothers had to go back out to research and find a way. Then, folk experience shows that this fruit is affected by strong winds, causing it to fall, helping Pu Hoat Nature Reserve to harvest the desired Sa mu fruit. Head of the Department of Science and International Cooperation Nguyen Van Manh said: “Sa mu fruit is shaped like a small pineapple, the weight of the fresh fruit is quite heavy, and it is located at the top of small branches. Therefore, it is easy to fall when encountering strong winds. Knowing this fact, the brothers at the stations wait after strong winds to go back into the forest to collect the fruit, or ask people who enter the forest at that time to help pick it up…”.
The fruits of the Sa Mu tree are mainly collected in the Hanh Dich border forest area. The fruits selected for seeds must be large and plump, just ripe and have a slightly yellowish green color. After harvesting, they must be incubated for 2-3 days to ripen and dry evenly. When the fruits crack, they are dried, then lightly beaten to separate the seeds. The small, dark-brown seeds of the Sa Mu tree will be processed, soaked for 4 hours in 2 parts boiling water, 3 parts cold water mixed with germination stimulant, then drained and sown on the prepared soil bed. “The seeds must be spread evenly on the bed, then covered with a thin layer of crushed soil. Every day, you must check the weather information to spray enough moisture accordingly. After about 20 days, the seeds of the Sa mu plant will germinate, and when they are 3-5cm high, they will be planted in pots and placed under a cover. About once a month, water with NPK fertilizer every 20-30 days until the plant is 10 months old. After 12 months or more, the Sa mu seedlings can be planted…” – Technician Nguyen Dang Tung explained.
Also visiting the Sa mu nursery, Deputy Director of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve Le Van Nghia excitedly said that, up to now, it can be affirmed that the Sa mu nursery has been successful, opening up a positive direction for the conservation of precious tree gene sources. Then he informed: "In the coming time, Pu Hoat Nature Reserve will cooperate with the people, guide and support them to plant experimentally in some areas. Specifically in Pieng Lang and possibly the area around the 7-storey waterfall...".
Scientists at Pu Hoat Nature Reserve showed us many research documents on the Sa Mu tree in Vietnam. There, there is more evidence that this is a rare plant species in danger of extinction, playing an important role in the ecosystem and biodiversity conservation value. And it is affirmed that in Vietnam today, the Sa Mu tree is recorded to be distributed in natural forests with a small number in the high mountainous areas of Ha Giang, Son La, Thanh Hoa provinces; but the most is in Nghe An, especially in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve.
Director of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve - Mr. Nguyen Van Sinh also has an article researching domestic and foreign scientific documents linking the reality of Que Phong mountain forest. Director of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve wrote about the need to preserve the Sa mu tree: "In recent decades, along with the low natural regeneration ability, human impact in tropical forests has seriously degraded the natural habitat of the Sa mu tree. On the other hand, many previous scientific research works published by Taiwan confirmed that Sa mu Cunninghamia konishii Hayata is an endemic species of Taiwan. Therefore, it can be seen that the research and conservation of the Sa mu tree in Vietnam, especially in Nghe An, is an urgent issue for scientists in the forestry sector, as well as localities where the species is distributed".
In conversation, Mr. Sinh said that because the conservation of the Cunninghamia species is considered necessary and important, the Vietnam Forestry Science Institute, the Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center and scientific research agencies and universities have conducted research and investigation projects on the Cunninghamia species in Vietnam. In particular, from 2020 - 2022, the Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center has implemented the project: "Application of geographic information methods and molecular biology techniques to serve the development of Cunninghamia konishii Hayata in Vietnam" to investigate and study the distribution, ecological characteristics and evaluate the ability to withstand the environment, ecological adaptation, genetic diversity... in the distribution areas of the species to serve as a scientific basis for proposing conservation and development measures.
Within the framework of the project, the Management Board of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve has coordinated with the Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center, Hanoi Forestry University to successfully implement the sexual propagation of Sa mu species. From the research results of the project, Pu Hoat Nature Reserve received 500 Sa mu seedlings; and applied the experimental nursery technology at Na Chang Station to get 1,000 trees. To continue developing these research results, Pu Hoat Nature Reserve coordinated with the People's Mobilization Committee of Que Phong District Party Committee to propose the idea of building a "Sa mu Road" in Pieng Lang village, Nam Giai commune to preserve Sa mu species and build new rural areas.
On November 8, 2022, the idea of "Sa mu Road" in Pieng Lang village was realized. With the results of the campaign to mobilize people to join hands and contribute, Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, District Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Committee, Nam Giai Commune Party Committee - People's Committee, Hanh Dich Border Guard Station and Pieng Lang people simultaneously launched a campaign to plant Sa mu trees. On the main road from Pieng Lang village to the center of Nam Giai commune, 180 Sa mu trees were planted, each household took care of and protected 1 to 2 trees according to the instructions of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve staff.
The Director of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve confided: “Pieng Lang is the most remote and difficult village in Nam Giai commune, close to the forest boundary of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, with natural ecological conditions quite similar to the distribution of the Sa mu species in nature. Besides, local people have indigenous knowledge in planting and caring for Sa mu trees. Therefore, choosing Pieng Lang and allowing people to participate in planting Sa mu trees will be very feasible, contributing significantly to the conservation of rare genetic resources, while raising people's awareness in forest protection work…”.
Going back in time, in November 2016, the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment was present in Que Phong district to award the Certificate of Vietnam Heritage Trees to the population of 56 Sa mu trees in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve. Before that, Nghe An Newspaper staff and Pu Hoat Nature Reserve staff traveled day and night through the Hanh Dich border forest to the population of 56 Sa mu trees to be moved by the beauty of Que Phong mountains and rivers, and the majesty of the rare Sa mu tree species.
Therefore, with what we have seen and heard, we hope that there are populations of Sa mu in the famous landscapes such as Bay Tang waterfall, Sao Va waterfall, Hua Na hydroelectric lake, etc. Expressing this thought, the staff of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve reiterated the goal of conserving Sa mu species associated with new rural development, and said that this is also the goal to aim for in the future.
“The Sa mu tree has a strong local character and has become a symbolic tree of Que Phong. Creating new Sa mu populations closer to human life and increasing the attractiveness of scenic areas is an aspiration of Pu Hoat Nature Reserve. Pu Hoat Nature Reserve will certainly try to do so, although it understands that this effort is for future generations…” – Director Nguyen Van Sinh said.
Le Van Nghia
Thank you Nghe An Newspaper for this very meaningful article. It helps to preserve and develop a rare tree species on Que Phong land.