Dissertation Research: Human Harvest of Snow Lotus (Saussurea laniceps and S. medusa)

藏药最近在中国、日本、欧洲和美国流行起来。雪莲（雪莲和水母）是生长缓慢的植物，可能无法承受维持全球需求所需的收获压力。过去的研究主要集中在收割对人口增长率的影响上。然而，这些研究没有考虑到采收产生的其他进化和生态影响（例如，由于人类介导的选择去除具有某些品质的植物而改变性状，或干扰重要的传粉媒介）。这些影响在植物种群的不稳定中起着很大的作用。本研究通过对采集压力较大的植物和圣域保护植物的监测，分析了雪莲的采集效果。这些植物特别容易受到收获的影响，因为整个植物的收集发生在植物唯一的开花阶段，在授粉和受精发生之前。首先，调查人员将收集人口统计信息，并使用矩阵模型研究植物移除对人口增长率的影响。其次，他们将利用植物标本馆标本提供的历史数据，评估选择可能对植物大小的进化影响。最后，研究了采收（种群密度降低）对雪莲及其传粉媒介相互作用的影响。这些信息将有助于为确定雪莲的威胁程度提供科学依据。该研究不仅有助于提供有关采收效果的信息，而且还将在支持保护作为藏药文化重要组成部分的濒危植物方面产生更广泛的影响。

Tibetan medicinal plants have recently become popular in China, Japan, Europe, and the United States. Snow Lotus (Saussurea laniceps and S. medusa) are slow-growing plants that may not be able to withstand the harvesting pressures necessary to sustain global demand. Past studies have primarily focused on harvesting effects on population growth rates. However, these studies have not considered additional evolutionary and ecological effects that harvesting produces (e.g., alteration of a trait as human-mediated selection removes plants with certain qualities, or interference with essential pollinators). These effects play a large role in destabilization of plant populations. By monitoring plants under heavy collection pressure and those protected from collection in sacred areas, this study analyzes harvesting effects of Snow Lotus. These plants are particularly susceptible to harvesting effects because collection of the whole plant occurs during the plant's only flowering stage, before pollination and fertilization occurs. First, the investigators will gather demographic information and use matrix models to study the effects of plant removal on the population growth rate. Second, they will assess the evolutionary impact that selection may have on the size of the plants by using historic data provided by herbarium specimens. Finally, the consequence of harvesting (reduced population density) on the interaction of Snow Lotus and its pollinators will be examined. This information will help provide a scientific basis for determining the level of threat to Snow Lotus. This study will not only help provide information on effects of harvesting, but will also have broader impacts in supporting the conservation of threatened plants that are important components of Tibetan medicinal culture.