Status of Ferula sinkiangensis
629
PLATE 1 (a) The remaining population and habitat of Ferula sinkiangensis in Yining County, Xinjiang, China, (b) the effects of grazing, (c) the fruiting stage and (d) the flowering state. Photos: Wenjun Li; (a), (b) and (d) photographed in 2023, (c) in 2018.
resulting in the destruction and loss of the species’ habitat (Li et al., 2016). Additionally, extensive grazing around the F. sinkiangensis reserve constrains its growth, as any plants that grow outside the reserve are consumed by cattle and sheep, preventing the population from expanding (Plate 1). Furthermore, despite legal prohibitions against harvesting F. sinkiangensis, this still occurs, threatening the species’ sur- vival. Because of its narrowdistribution range and decreasing number of individuals, F. sinkiangensis is categorized as Critically Endangered on the Threatened Species List of China’s Higher Plants based on criterion A2c(Qin et al., 2017).We propose that the species should be categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCNRed List based on criter- ion B2ab(iii), C2a(i) andD(IUCN, 2022); i.e.we calculate the area of occupancy to be the same as the extent of occurrence at 4 km2 (B2), there is a single location (a), which is affected by cattle and sheep grazing, and human disturbance, re- sulting in a continuing decline in extent and quality of habitat (b(iii)), and the results of the surveys conducted in both years show that there are fewer than 50 mature indivi- duals within each subpopulation (C2a(i)) and the whole population (D). The area occupied by the two subpopula- tions falls within a single cell of a 2 × 2 km grid, and there- fore both the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are ,4 km2. Rare and threatened species often face increased risk of
genetic drift and inbreeding because of their small popula- tion sizes and limited geographical ranges (Nei et al., 1975; Hamrick et al., 1992; Hamrick & Godt, 1996; Frankham, 1997; Nybom, 2004). It is crucial to prioritize measures aimed at preventing population degradation for such spe- cies, including in situ and ex situ conservation strategies (Li et al., 2014;Wang et al., 2016;Han et al., 2020). The stable age structure of the F. sinkiangensis population in Yining
County can be attributed to the construction of the fence around the reserve in 2004 and the implementation of graz- ing bans inside the reserve. However, the population faces challenges to its regeneration, with only a few seeds pro- duced by mature plants (of which there are ,50). To pro- tect this species effectively, we recommend the following in situ and ex situ conservation actions: (1) further studies on the species’ phenology, pollination, seed dispersal, popula- tion dynamics and genetic variation; (2) development of an ex situ conservation plan, including artificial cultivation, tissue culture and core germplasm preservation; and (3) strengthening of reserve management practices and in- creasing awareness among local residents regarding the importance of conserving this species (Li et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2016; Han et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020; Paglia et al., 2022).
Author contributions Study design, fieldwork: TL, QC, LY, WL; data analysis: TL, QC, WL; writing: TL, ZY, WL.
Acknowledgements We thank Song Shiqiang, Chen Sheng, the local government and residents for their assistance during fieldwork. This study was supported by grants from the Tianshan Youth Program of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (2022TSYCCX0088), the Western Young Scholars Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2022-XBQNXZ-003) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Partnership and International Technology Cooperation Plan of Science and Technology Projects (2021E01020).
Conflicts of interest None.
Ethical standards This research abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards.
Data availability The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, WL, upon reasonable request.
Oryx, 2024, 58(5), 627–630 © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324000632
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
