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

9705795 Donoghue等人。该项目将对四川西部和西藏东部中国两省的植物和真菌多样性进行调查。这一地区的地形极其复杂，是由于亚洲高原的主要河流平行的、非常深的山谷造成的。该地区低海拔地区的特点是热带森林，而高海拔地区主要是针叶树和高山植被。初步工作表明，这一地区的维管植物多样性远远超过地球温带任何其他同等大小的地区。我们有理由假设，在非维管束植物和真菌中也会发现高水平的多样性，尽管目前对这一地区的这些类群的了解很少。收集植物和真菌的探险将于1997年、1998年和1999年进行；这些探险将与来自北京和四川成都生物研究所的中国同事密切合作。Spciemens将分发给中国内外的相关机构，并将特别快地提供给各小组的专家。标本数据将以电子方式提供，并尽快通过万维网提供。该项目是由美国国家科学基金会、哈佛大学、成都研究所和其他中国机构以及爱丁堡皇家植物园的国际项目和生物调查与资源调查项目合作资助的。通过该项目的课程，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，该项目还将建立长期协作堡垒，对中国的生物多样性进行评估。

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.