EAPSI: Understanding How Increasing Urbanization Affects Cultural and Biological Knowledge Preservation in Sichuan Province, China

中国呢？中国兰花种类繁多，尤其是西南地区？在四川省，有很好的记载。许多物种被用于传统中药，具有悠久的栽培历史和文化欣赏。它们的药用潜力、稀有性和美丽性以及栖息地丧失所带来的压力，使许多物种面临灭绝的风险。由于生物多样性和文化多样性之间的联系，记录传统的兰花知识是必要的，以保护兰花文化和多样性。快速的城市化和农村社区发展的严重经济压力增加了中国西南地区的濒危程度。生物和文化的多样性。该项目将与四川大学著名的环境科学家和植物学家唐亚博士合作，测试四川省城市化对三种兰花知识的影响。虽然四川省的兰花植物群在中国大陆排名第三，但目前对四川兰花的研究却很少。兰花种群的迅速下降被广泛承认，但很少有人注意到正式记录这一现象或调查其损失的影响。城市化和经济发展的压力加剧了四川的危险？的生物文化多样性。本研究探讨了城市化对四川兰花文化知识的保存/传播的作用，假设这种作用取决于所考虑的知识类型。为了验证这一点，一个跨学科的知识调查，采用半结构式访谈，将进行评估的城市化对三种类型的兰花知识在四川的影响。兰花生物文化多样性保护的利益相关者，如政府机构，植物园和大学将受益于该项目将为他们的倡议提供更深入的见解。该NSF EAPSI奖支持美国研究生的研究，并与中国科技部合作资助。

China?s vast orchid diversity, particularly Southwest China?s Sichuan Province, is well documented. Many species are used in traditional Chinese medicine, with a long history of cultivation and cultural appreciation. Pressures resulting from their pharmaceutical potential, rarity, and beauty, and from habitat loss, risk extinction of many species. Due to the link between biodiversity and cultural diversity, documenting traditional orchid knowledge is necessary to conserve the orchid culture and diversity. Rapid urbanization and the acute economic pressures for rural communities to develop have increased endangerment of Southwest China?s biological and cultural diversity. In collaboration with Dr. Ya Tang, an accomplished environmental scientist and botanist at Sichuan University, this project will test the effect of urbanization on three types of orchid knowledge in Sichuan Province. The unique cultural and biological diversity of the province position this study to yield valuable insights for conservation efforts.Though the orchid flora of Sichuan Province is the third most diverse in Mainland China, a dispro¬portionately small amount of research studies have focused there. Rapidly declining orchid populations are widely recognized, but little attention has been paid to formally documenting this phenomenon or investigating the impact of their loss. Urbanization and economic development pressures compound the endangerment of Sichuan?s biocultural diversity. This study asks what role urbanization has on the preservation/dissemination of orchid cultural knowledge in Sichuan, hypothesizing that the effect depends on the type of knowledge considered. To test this, an interdisciplinary knowledge survey, employing semi-structured interviews, will be conducted to assess impacts of urbanization on three types of orchid knowledge in Sichuan. Stakeholders in orchid biocultural diversity conservation such as government agencies, botanical gardens, and universities will benefit from the greater insight this project will provide for their initiatives. This NSF EAPSI award supports the research of a U.S. graduate student and is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.