From Valley to Alpine Mountain: Diversity and Utilization of Tibetan Medicinal Plants in Deqin

Abstract

A field and interdisciplinary survey of Tibetan medicinal plant resources was undertaken in Deqin Country of Northwest Yunnan in 2008. Three typical habitats,river valley,mid-mountain and alpine regions were selected to document the use knowledge and species diversity used locally,and to evaluate the importance and vulnerability of medicinal plant species. 144 medicinal plant species of 63 families and 126 genera were recorded in this paper. Most of them (64%) are used through collecting wild plants,and the other 36% are supplied by pilot cultivation or conventional plantation. 26% of total 144 species are being threatened because of commercial harvesting and limited resources. Among the three surveyed plots along altitude gradients,the river valley has the least vulnerable plant species,while alpine region has the most plant species which are being threatened by overharvesting,limited by slow growth rate,and exacerbated by the difficulty of man-made cultivation. And reasonable strategies should be developed for plants resources in this and other special habitats.