Plant and Fungal Diversity of Western Sichuan and Eastern Xizang, China

[705795] Donoghue等。该项目将调查中国四川西部和西藏东部两省的植物和真菌多样性。这个地区的地形极其复杂，这是由于亚洲高原主要河流的平行深谷造成的。该地区低海拔地区以热带森林为特征，而高海拔地区以针叶树和高山植被为主。初步研究表明，该地区维管植物的多样性远远大于地球温带任何其他同等大小的地区。我们可以合理地假设，在非维管植物和真菌中也会发现高度的多样性，尽管目前对这些群体的了解非常少。1997年、1998年和1999年将进行植物和真菌采集考察；他们将与来自北京的中国同事和四川成都生物研究所密切合作。标本将分发给中国境内外的有关机构，并将以特别快的速度提供给各个小组的专家。标本数据将以电子方式提供，尽可能快地通过万维网提供。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的国际项目和生物调查与清单项目、哈佛大学、成都研究所和其他中国机构和爱丁堡皇家植物园合作资助。通过这个项目，美国和中国的学生都将得到培训，并有机会进行国际旅行和合作。此外，该项目将建立长期的合作努力，以评估中国的生物多样性。

9705795 Donoghue et al. This project will inventory plant and fungal diversity in western Sichuan and eastern Xizang (Tibet) provinces of China. This area is one of extreme topographic complexity caused by the parallel, very deep valleys of the major rivers that drain the Asian plateau. Lower elevations of the region are characterized by tropical forests, while higher elevations are dominated by conifers and alpine vegetation. Preliminary work has shown that vascular plant diversity in this area is far greater than in any other region of comparable size in the Earth's temperate zones. It is reasonable to hypothesize that high levels of diversity will also be found among the non-vascular plants and fungi, although current knowledge of these groups is very poor for this region. Expeditions to collect plants and fungi will be undertaken in 1997, 1998, and 1999; these will be in close collaboration with Chinese colleagues from Beijing and the Chengdu Institute of Biology in Sichuan. Spciemens will be distributed to relevant institutions within and outside of China, and will be made available particularly quickly to experts in various groups. The specimen data will be made available electronically, as quickly as it can be provided via the WWW. This project is funded as a partnership among the International Programs and Biotic Surveys & Inventories Program of the NSF, Harvard University, the Chengdu Institute and other Chinese institutions and agencies, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. Through the course of the project, both American and Chinese students will be trained and have the opportunity for international travel and collaboration. In addition, this project will establish long-term collaborative edforts to assess the biodiversity of China.