LTREB: Population Growth and Viability of American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.)

西洋参是东部落叶林中分布广泛但不常见的林下草本植物。 人参是美国首屈一指的野生药用植物物种，每年为数千名阿巴拉契亚农村采掘者带来数百万美元的补充收入。 野生收获满足了亚洲市场对该植物广谱草药特性的需求。 最近的医学研究表明，人参可以治疗糖尿病、降低肥胖并增强免疫系统。 《濒危物种国际贸易公约》(CITES) 附录 II 中规定了对天然人参种群的保护，但需要详细的人口统计数据才能将该物种的管理建立在坚实的科学基础上。 拟议的 LTREB 项目将对 30 个地理分布的人参种群（总计超过 4000 人）进行长期、详细的普查和人口建模。 该项目将提供有关环境扰动如何影响野山参种群长期预后的重要信息。 该分析将与对人参保护生物学有浓厚兴趣的三个利益相关者群体共享：其他科学家、管理者/政策制定者和公众。 将为博士设立保护奖学金。学生对他们进行数据管理、人口矩阵建模和外展方面的培训。 第二名研究生和两名本科生实习生将获得暑期支持以协助该项目。

American ginseng is a widespread but uncommon understory herb of the eastern deciduous forest. Ginseng is America's premier wild harvested medicinal plant species, annually worth millions of dollars in supplemental income to thousands of rural Appalachian diggers. The wild harvest supplies Asian market demand for the plant's putative broad-spectrum herbal properties. Recent medical research suggests that ginseng may treat diabetes, lower obesity, and boost the immune system. Conservation of natural ginseng populations is mandated by its listing on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix II, however detailed demographic data are needed to place management of the species on solid scientific ground. The proposed LTREB project will extend long-term, detailed censusing and demographic modeling of 30 geographically distributed populations of ginseng containing an aggregate of more than 4000 individuals. This project will provide crucial information about how perturbations in the environment affect the long-term prognosis for wild ginseng populations. This analysis will be shared with three stakeholder groups with strong interests in ginseng conservation biology: other scientists, managers/policymakers, and the general public. A conservation fellowship will be created for a Ph.D. student to train them in data curation, population matrix modeling, and outreach. A second graduate student and two undergraduate interns will receive summer support to assist with the project.