EAPSI: Evaluating the Interactions Among Species Selected for Assisted Colonization as a New Conservation Strategy for Chinese Orchids

为了应对气候变化，物种迁移到其自然范围之外，也被称为“辅助殖民化”，是一种新兴的、有争议的保护措施。作为这种努力的一个罕见的例子，中国西南部的几十种野生兰花被转移到海拔更高的地方，以迎接广西雅昌国家兰花保护区附近龙潭水库的建成。在采取此类行动时，需要考虑的一个重要因素是了解迁移物种与新范围内其他物种的相互作用。该项目将研究与当前和新范围的选定兰花物种的根相关的有益真菌。该项目将与中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园（XTBG）的兰花生态学家和教师高江云博士合作进行。研究结果不仅将为这一有争议的保护策略提供有价值的见解，而且将有助于促进中国兰花的研究和科学保护。在气候变化的背景下，了解范围扩张如何影响生物关系变得更加迫切，因为全球变化可能对严重依赖其他分类群的分类群产生最大的影响。菌根真菌和植物的相互作用是这些脆弱关系中最重要的。利用现代微生物学和DNA测序技术，该项目将识别与兰花相关的菌根，这些菌根是雅昌保护区正在进行的辅助定植实验的一部分。在根组织中分离和鉴定真菌后，将收集底物样品，以确定供体和受体部位相容真菌的分布和丰度。该项目的结果将用于为这一长期项目制定更好的协议，并将提供对生物因素在辅助殖民化成功中的作用的关键评估。该奖项由国家科学基金会与中国科技部共同资助。

The moving of species beyond their natural ranges in response to a changing climate, also known as "assisted colonization", is a newly-emerged and controversial conservation measure. As a rare example of such an effort, dozens of species of wild orchids in southwestern China were moved to higher elevation sites in anticipation of the completion of the Longtan reservoir near the Yachang National Orchid Reserve in Guangxi Province. One important factor to consider when undertaking such actions is to understand the interaction of the moved species with other species in their new ranges. This project will examine the beneficial fungi associated with the roots of selected orchid species in both the current and new ranges. This project will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Gao Jiangyun, orchid ecologist and faculty at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The results will not only provide valuable insights into this debatable conservation strategy but will help promote research and science-based conservation of Chinese orchids.Under the context of climate change, understanding how range expansions can influence biotic relationships becomes more urgent since global changes may have the most impact on taxa that are heavily dependent on other taxa. Mycorrhizal fungi and plant interactions are among the most important of these vulnerable relationships. Using modern microbiological and DNA sequencing techniques, this project will identify the mycorrhiza associated with orchids that are part of the ongoing assisted colonization experiments at Yachang Reserve. After isolating and identifying the fungi in the root tissues, substrate samples will be collected to determine the distribution and abundance of compatible fungi in both the donor and recipient sites. The results of this project will be used to develop better protocols for this long-term project and will provide a critical evaluation on the role of biotic factors in the success of assisted colonization's. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.