Fengshui forests as a conservation paradigm of the golden larch in China

Abstract

Potential suitable habitats for relict species are facing critical reductions due to intensified anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. These facts not only pose new challenges, but also call for a paradigm shift for the effective conservation of relict plant species. We investigated in situ population structures and regeneration status under varying management scenarios for Pseudolarix amabilis, a relict conifer endemic to China. We also re-evaluated the conservation status of P. amabilis using our latest in situ population census data. We found that the conservation status of P. amabilis is more pessimistic than expected. Hence, wild P. amabilis populations urgently need to be considered for conservation. More concretely, intensive and frequent anthropogenic disturbances reduce population recruitment, but a reduced population recruitment also occurs at places where human activities have been strictly prohibited. Comparing with other management scenarios, the populations in fengshui forests showed good regeneration, since the moderate anthropogenic disturbances in these forests. Therefore, fengshui forests can serve as a conservation paradigm of P. amabilis since they echo the optimum regime where anthropogenic disturbances occur.