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

西洋参是东部落叶林中一种分布广泛但不常见的下层草本植物。人参是美国首屈一指的野生药用植物品种，每年为数千名阿巴拉契亚农村挖掘者带来数百万美元的补充收入。野生收成为亚洲市场提供了对该植物假定的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，降低肥胖症，并增强免疫系统。保护天然人参种群的任务是将其列入《濒危物种国际贸易公约》(CITES)附录II，然而，需要详细的人口统计数据才能将物种管理建立在坚实的科学基础上。拟议的LTREB项目将扩展对30个地理分布的人参种群的长期、详细的普查和人口模型，这些种群总共包含4000多个个体。该项目将提供有关环境扰动如何影响野生人参种群长期预后的关键信息。这项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团体分享：其他科学家、管理人员/政策制定者和普通公众。将为一名博士生设立保护奖学金，以培训他们进行数据管理、种群矩阵建模和推广。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.