CRB: Effects of Harvesting and White-Tailed Deer Browsing on Demography and Population Viability of American Ginseng

美国人参是一种罕见的多年生植物，原产于东部落叶林。自然种群的收获是为了回应亚洲市场对这种生长缓慢、药用活性的植物的根的需求。它由阿巴拉契亚农村人收获，通常是贫穷的，具有多种经济、社会和文化功能。多种证据表明，人参作为我们森林的一种自然资源，在过去的两个世纪里，其丰度和地位都有所下降。人参可能是一个双重问题的受害者-一个是由于收割机之间争夺人参根造成的，另一个是由于太多白尾鹿的附带影响造成的。由于人参被列入CITES(濒危物种国际贸易公约)的附录II，联邦政府必须与各州合作，证明收成的可持续性。然而，在美国，人参还没有标准化的监测程序、人口统计数据或种群生存能力估计。这项研究的主要目标是通过评估种群增长率、诊断出现低种群增长率的原因(将收获和取食作为可能的因素)以及评估扭转种群下降的可能处方来填补这一空白。这项研究还将提供人参灭绝概率方面的预测，因为它们可能随着管理方案的不同而不同。来自四个州(印第安纳州、肯塔基州、弗吉尼亚州和西弗吉尼亚州)的天然人参种群将在四年内(2002-2005)进行研究，继续从2000年开始的数据收集过程。利用种群生物学的分析和建模工具，将解决上述研究目标。这项研究将是迄今为止评估人参现状和潜在保护策略的最广泛、最深入的努力。这项研究有可能影响数以万计的人参收割机以及许多地方、州和联邦土地管理人员和监管机构。在保护生物学和种群生物学的科学中，人参的例子可以成为如何应用种群生物学知识来保护本地植物物种和围绕该物种发展起来的文化传统的模型。本科生和研究生参与对这种极具魅力的原生植物的研究将进一步培养对保护生物学的专业知识和兴趣。

0212411McGrawAmerican ginseng an uncommon perennial plant native to the eastern deciduous forest. Harvest of natural populations occurs in response to demand for roots of this slow-growing, medicinally active plant from the Asian market. Its harvest by rural, often poor, Appalachian people serves several economic, social and cultural functions. Multiple lines of evidence suggest ginseng as a natural resource of our forests has declined in both abundance and stature over the past two centuries. Ginseng is potentially a victim of a dual problem - one caused by competition among harvesters for the root, and a second caused by collateral effects of too many white-tailed deer. The federal government, in cooperation with states, is required to certify the sustainability of harvest since ginseng is listed on Appendix II of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). However, no standardized monitoring procedure, demographic statistics, or population viability estimates are available for ginseng in the U.S. The primary goal of this research is to fill this gap by assessing population growth rates, diagnosing causes of low population growth rates where they occur (focusing on harvest and browsing as possible factors), and evaluating possible prescriptions for reversing population decline. This study will also provide a prognosis for ginseng in terms of extinction probabilities as they may vary with management schemes. Natural ginseng populations from a four-state area (Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia) will be studied over a four-year period (2002 - 2005), continuing a data collection process begun in 2000. Using the analysis and modeling tools of population biology, the research goals described above will be addressed. This research will be the most extensive, in-depth effort to evaluate the status and potential conservation strategies for ginseng to date. The research has the potential to impact tens of thousands of ginseng harvesters as well as numerous local, state, and federal land managers and regulatory agencies. In the science of conservation biology and population biology, the example of ginseng could become a model for how knowledge of population biology can be applied to preserve both a native plant species and the cultural traditions that have developed around that species. Undergraduate and graduate student involvement with research on this charismatic native plant will develop further expertise and interest in conservation biology.