Conservation and development of medicinal plants in xuan son national park phu tho province

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY FACULTY OF FOREST RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT STUDENT THESIS CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN XUAN SON NATIONAL PARK

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY

FACULTY OF FOREST RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT

STUDENT THESIS CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN

XUAN SON NATIONAL PARK, PHU THO PROVINCE

Major: Advanced Curriculum in Natural Resources Management

Code: D850101

Faculty: Forest Resources & Environmental Management

Student: Nguyen Kim Anh

ACKNOWLEDMENTS

To complete the final thesis, firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Assoc.Prof Dr Hoang Van Sam for the continuous support of my thesis, for his patience, motivation, and immense knowledge His guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my final thesis Thanks to cooperating between Vietnam Forestry University and Colorado State University, I have a chance to approach a reservoir of international knowledge and experience

I would like to thank all staffs of Xuan Son National Park, Forest protection and management station of Xuan Son, local people for creating all favorable conditions and supplying all information and data in the process of studying this dissertation

Last but not least, this thesis could have never been completed without the support of

my friends and parents because of their encouragement and giving me the favorable conditions during the entire process of doing research and going field works for having my work done

Because my knowledge is limited, this thesis may have some mistakes; I would like to receive the comments from the teachers to help my thesis becoming more complete

Hanoi, 1 st October, 2018

Student

Nguyen Kim Anh

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES v

LIST OF FIGURES vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 2: GOAL AND METHODOLOGY 3

2.1 Goal of the study 3

2.2 Specific objectives 3

2.2 Subjects – scope 3

2.3 Materials 3

2.4 Field Investigation method 4

2.4.1 Transect lines 4

2.4.2 Non-field investigation methods 6

2.5 Data analysis 6

2.6 Proposing measures to manage and conserve medicinal plants 7

CHAPTER 3: NATURAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 8

3.1 Geographic location and natural conditions 8

3.1.1 Geographical location 8

3.1.2 Terrain 8

3.1.3 Geology 9

3.1.4 Soil 9

3.1.5 Climate and hydrology 9

3.2 Forest status and land use 10

3.2.1 The area of land types, forest types 10

3.2.2 Vegetation, animals and distribution of rare species 11

3.3 Socio - economic characteristics 13

3.4 Situation of socio-economic development 14

3.4.1 Crop 14

3.5 Traffic 15

3.6 Medical 15

3.7 Education 15

CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION 16

4.1 The current status of resources and use of some medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park, Tan Son district, Phu Tho province 16

4.1.1 Current situation of medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park 16

4.1.2 The status of using medicinal plant resources 19

4.1.3 The variety of parts used 19

4.1.4 Diversity of number of parts and use of medicinal plants 20

4.2 Situation of exploiting, preserving and developing medicinal plant resources in Xuan Son National Park 23

4.2.1 Exploitation status 23

4.2.2 Current status of conservation and development of medicinal plant resources 24

4.3 Research on the ecological characteristics of rare medical plants in Xuan Son national park 27

4.3.1 Anoectochilus setaceus Blume 27

4.3.2 Paris polyphylla Smith 29

4.3.3 Aspidistra xuansonensis var xuansonensis 31

4.4 Solutions for conservation and development of some precious medical plants in Xuan Son national park 32

4.4.1 Threats to medicinal plant resources in Xuan Son National Park: 32

4.4.2 Proposed solutions to conserve medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park: 33

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMeNDATION 35

5.1 Conclusion 35

5.2 Recommendation 35

REFERENCES 37

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Survey on species statistics by transect line 5

Table 2.2: Form of information on medicinal plants by interview local people 6

Table 3.1: Forest and land status of Xuan Son commune 10

Table 3.2: Forest composition of Xuan Son Commune 13

Table 4.1: Current situation of medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park 16

Table 4.2: Statistics of medicinal plant components in live form 18

Table 4.3: The variety of parts used in medicine 19

Table 4.4: Synthesis of parts used as drugs 21

Table 4.5: Usage of medicinal plants 22

Table 4.6: Market statistics and status of some herbs available in Xuan Son National Park (time of investigation in June 2018) 23

Table 4.7: List of medicinal plants that studied ecological characteristics in the study site 27

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Location of Xuan Son National Park 3

Figure 2.2: Transect lines for investigation 4

Figure 4.1: Statistics of the percentage of species and families in the area 18

Figure 4.2: Experience of using plant parts of medicinal plants ethnic minorities in Xuan Son National Park 20

Figure 4.3: Percentage of used parts for medicine 21

Figure 4.4: Stem and leaves of Anoectochilus setaceus Blume 28

Figure 4.5: Stem and leaves of Paris polyphylla Smith 30

Figure 4.6: Flowers and bulbs of Aspidistra xuansonensis 32

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Plant conservation is one of the most important issues of concern to the world The flora

is of the highest importance because of the habitat of living organisms The survival and development of plants are the basis for the evolution and evolution of the organism Moreover, plants contribute greatly to the healing of human disease from its use

Vietnam is a tropical country, has the rich of vegetation cover with a variety of medicinal plants This precious herb resource contributes significantly to the initial health care

in our country, particularly to rural and mountainous communities We have 54 ethnic groups live together, each groups has their own traditional culture and experience in heathy care Medicinal plants in Vietnam are largely used empirically in each ethnic community Uniqueness in the use of medicinal plants have shown in the experience of the individual or ethnic community This valuable experience which has helped to build up the back group of traditional medicine with a history of thousands of years

However, the research, development, conservation and use of medicinal plants in Vietnam is facing many challenges, such as many medicinal plants are exhausted and in danger

of extinction due to overexploitation People in mountainous areas still have the habit of exploiting available medicinal plants from natural forests Moreover, they sell to male traders, which leads to the danger of exhausting this resource quickly, and some high value species can become extinct

Xuan Son National Park in Tan Son district, Phu Tho province is considered as a region with high biodiversity, which is the storehouse of gene sources of rare and precious plants and animals of our country There are 2,908 households in the national park, mainly Muong ethnic (80%) and Dao ethnic (18%) The people still retain many traditional customs and tradition characteristics in production as well as living and daily life In particular, the use of medicinal

plants, medicinal herbs In order to understand the status of conservation, exploitation and provide the basis for proposing solutions to management of previous medicinal plants in the

study area, I do the topic: “Conservation and development of medicinal plant in Xuan Son National Park, Phu Tho Province”

CHAPTER 2: GOAL AND METHODOLOGY 2.1 Goal of the study

- Assessment the current status of use and conservation; providing solutions for conservation and development of some precious medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park, Phu Tho province

2.2 Specific objectives

- To assess the current status of use of medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park

- Research on the ecological characteristics of rare medicinal plants in the study area

- Propose solutions to conserve and develop medicinal plants in Xuan Son commune, Phu Tho province

2.2 Subjects – scope

- Subjects: Some precious medicine plant species in Xuan Son National Park, Phu Tho province

- Scope: Xuan Son National Park, Phu Tho province

Figure 2.1: Location of Xuan Son National Park 2.3 Materials

- Inherited the documentation of the flora survey results of individuals and organizations

• The data on natural conditions, climate, hydrology, soil, topography, forest resources

• Information and data on economic, condtions, social conditions

2.4 Field Investigation method

2.4.1 Transect lines

Using transect line to collect data on some previous medicinal plant species in Xuan Son National Park The transect line was designed on the topographic map to check the information that was discussed with local experts such as distribution, management situation, exploitation and use The transect line should be selected based on available trails for easier access to the area

Use a GPS to determine the distribution of species on the transect lines into the vegetation map of Xuan Son National Park

Figure 2.2: Transect lines for investigation

• Transect 1: From Coi hamlet to Can mountain

• Transect 2: From Lang hamlet to Lung Mang hamlet

• Transect 3: From Lap hamlet to Ga stream

• Transect 4: From Xuan Son primary school to Ten mountain

On the lines, we need to observe, identify the species and statistics of the species to investigate the species, detect the forest types

Transect line: ……

Forest type: …………

Coordinates of transect line: ………

Days of investigation: ……… Researchers: ………

Table 2.1: Survey on species statistics by transect line

Job: Date of interview: Interviewer

Table 2.2: Form of information on medicinal plants by interview local people

No Name of

Parts used

- RRA (Rapid Rural Appraisal): Use interview questionnaires to interview the following people: foresters, people living near the forest; forest management and protection staff; officials and leaders of local administrations; Staff of Xuan Son National Park Management Board; Rangers; Scientific and technical staff

2.5 Data analysis

- Data is processed on Excel software

- Calculate the average number of individuals of plants

The criteria to calculate D1.3 (cm), Hvn (m), Hdc (m), Dt (m)

- Identification of groups of tall trees according to the formula:

Ntb = N / m

where:

Ntb : the average number of individuals for each survey species

N : the number of individuals of each species

m : the total number of individuals surveyed

- Using a paired comparison method to assess results

Using an assessment of Vietnam’s Red Book, 2007 (Part II – Plant) , the evaluation criteria of the IUCN (2000), the provisions of the law of Vietnam in Decree 32/2006 / ND-CP 30/3/2006 Government and Decision 74/2008 / QD-BNN dated 20/6/2008 of MARD issued the list of animals, wild plants specified in the Annexes of the Convention on international trade in endangered animals and plants ; the International Convention on the international trade of wild fauna and flora species Endangered Species (CITIES)

2.6 Proposing measures to manage and conserve medicinal plants

- Technical solutions

- Solutions for forest protection and forest fire prevention and control

- Solutions technology application

- Solutions on land management

- Solutions to attract investment

CHAPTER 3: NATURAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS

3.1 Geographic location and natural conditions

- The North is next to Dong Son commune, Tan Son district, Phu Tho province

- The South is next to Kim Thuong commune

- The West is next to Phu Yen district (Son La province), Da Bac district (Hoa Binh province)

- The East is next to Xuan Dai commune, Tan Son district, Phu Tho province

3.1.2 Terrain

- The terrain of Xuan Son National Park has a steep slope with many sloping areas, mountains mixed with limestone mountains, rising gradually from east to west, from south to north

- The average mountain terrain, elevation ≥700m, accounting for 30% of the total natural area of Xuan Sơn commune, the highest peak is Voi mountain 1,386 m, Ten mountain 1.244m, Can mountain 1,144m

- Topography of the valley, slope It accounts for about 5% of the total natural area of the Commune, which is located between low and medium mountains, most of which are used for agricultural purposes

3.1.3 Geology

According to the geological data of North Vietnam in 1984, it was found that: Xuan Son commune has complicated geological development processes Geologists call: the low hills of Mua River The area has a complex structure Mixed rock, different ages lying interspersed into narrow strips

- Rangin soil (or soil formed in limestone mountains): Limestone is a hard rock, difficult

to weathering The steep terrain, so when weathering will be washed away The land is formed only in hollows or rocky cliffs

- Soil sediment and river sediment in rivers and valleys: It is a fertile, thick layer, brown, the main component is limon Every year, it gets a layer of silt accretion new fertile

3.1.5 Climate and hydrology

3.1.5.1 Climate

- According to meteorological data of Minh Dai and Thanh Son stations, the climate in Xuan Son National Park is in the tropical monsoon zone; There are two distinct seasons: rainy season and dry season

- The rainy season: from April to October, accounting for 90% of total annual rainfall, the highest rainfall is August, September each year The annual rainfall is 1,826 mm, the maximum rainfall can reach 2,453 mm (2017)

- Dry season: November to March of the following year; affected by the Northeast monsoon, low temperature, low rainfall and foggy

- The annual average temperature is 22.5℃; the absolute highest air temperature in June and July every year, sometimes up to 40.7℃; the lowest absolute air temperature in November

to February next year, sometimes down to 0.5℃

- The average annual humidity is 86%, the highest humidity month is July, August (over 87%), lowest in December (65%)

3.1.5.2 Hydrology

Xuan Son commune has stream systems such as Cooc stream; Chieng streams flow into Bong river in Xuan Dai commune

3.2 Forest status and land use

3.2.1 The area of land types, forest types

According to the results of the survey on forest status and land use of Xuan Son National Park in 2015, Xuan Son commune has a total natural area of 6,560 ha; of which agricultural land is 170.2 ha; forestry land: 6322 ha; non-agricultural land 67.8 ha

Table 3.1: Forest and land status of Xuan Son commune

(hectares)

The area in the planning (hectares)

II FOREST CLASSIFY BY LOCAL CONDITIONS 6,002.1 6,002.1

- Evergreen forest or semi-deciduous forest 5,803.8 5,803.8

Classification of forest Total area

(hectares)

The area in the planning (hectares)

(Source: Xuan Son National Park, 2017)

The survey results show that:

- Forest cover accounts for 94%, in which the natural forest area accounts for 91% of the forest cover and the remaining 3% of the forest area

- Land without forests accounts for 6% of the total land area, including agricultural and forestry land (non-agricultural land) and bare land (3.4 ha)

This shows that forest protection in the commune is very good In the area, trees were planted on the bare land

3.2.2 Vegetation, animals and distribution of rare species

3.2.2.1 Ecosystems

- Evergreen forest with wet tropical rain : Distributed into relatively large patches below 700m in the south of Xuan Son Commune Forest vegetation is quite rich, common in the family

: Dipterocarpaceae, Sapindaceae, Mimosaceae, Caesalpiniaceae

- Evergreen forest with subtropical rain: Distributed in Ten mountain , Voi mountain and a part of Xuan Son commune from 700 meters lattitude The main plant species are the

broad-leaved trees of the family: Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Magnoliaceae, Aceraceae, Theraceae,

- Tropical evergreen forest on limestone: Distribution concentrated in Can mountain,

typical species include: Excentrodendron tonkinense, Garcinia fagraeoides, guava, Streblus

spp., Chukrasia tabularis, Pometia pinnata

- Sub-tropical evergreen forest on limestone: Distributed into relatively large patches in

Can mountain from elevation 700m Some coniferous species such as Amentotaxus argotaenia,

Podocarpus neriifolius and the rise of subtropical plants

- Secondary forest recovery after cultivation: Distributed scattered in the commune The

species is represented such as: Trema oriantalis, Euvodia meliaefolia, Choerospondias

axillaries, Litsea cubeba, Shorea chinensis

- Secondary forest: The bamboo forest occupies only a small area (56 hectares) in the

East of the Commune Mainly Schizostachyum with small leaves, some species of wood trees

scattered This type of forest is of poor economic value, but in terms of less fertile forest land and high levels of illumination, bamboo forests has a major role in soil retention and erosion control and create habitat conditions for some groups of wildlife

- Plantation forest: distributed mainly in the lowlands located in the East and South of

the Commune The restoration can be planted with indigenous species such as: Parashorea

chinensis H Wang, Fibraurea tinctoria Lour., Dipterocarpus retusus Blume, Chukrasia tabularis A Juss.,

- Grasslands, shrubs: scattered throughout the area, but most concentrated in the tropical forests of the East of the commune The ability to restore natural forests on land without forests requires a long time

- Cultivation, fields and residential: Scattered throughout the commune, but concentrated into a large area in the East of the commune, where many villages, including paddy rice fields, crops

3.2.2.2 Composition and number of plant taxa

The survey results revealed that 1,259 vascular plant species, belonging to 699 genera

of 185 families Summary results of the forest list as follows:

Table 3.2: Forest composition of Xuan Son Commune

families

Number of genus

Number of Species

(Source: Xuan Son National Park, 2017)

3.3 Socio - economic characteristics

Xuan Son commune has 04 hamlets in Tan Son district, Phu Tho province The hamlets are distributed mainly in the lowest mountains, at an altitude of 200-400 meters above sea level, concentrated in the east, a part of north, south of the commune

- Population: According to the statistics of communes in 2017, Xuan Son commune has 1,158 people, 288 households, of which 117 poor households (40.63%), 141 near poor households (accounting for 48.96%)

- Labor: accounting for 70.3% of the total population

- Ethnic group: Xuan Son commune has 3 ethnic groups living: Muong ethnic group (60%); Dao ethnic group (39%); Kinh people have 2 households, accounting for 1.0%

+ Muong people: they live in separate hamlets in Lap hamlet, Lang hamlet; some

often help each other in their work: farming, cultivating, gathering, They have a long tradition

of farming, so their fields are very stable and sustainable

+ Dao ethnic group: distributed in Du hamelt, Coi hamlet They here still retain many traditional customs and traditions This is also a valuable human resource that is retained

3.4 Situation of socio-economic development

3.4.1 Crop

- The main agricultural products are rice (50 hectares), potato, cassava, some products for breeding (28.8 hectares) In addition, most of the irrigation water depends on natural conditions, so the dry season is often lack of water, the area of rice is low, mainly cultivated one crop

- The area of sweet potato, cassava cultivated in the hillside, where the land is less sloping and completely dependent on natural conditions, so productivity and output are not high

- Other crops: corn, beans, peanuts are grown on high, flat land that is not suitable for fields

3.4.2 Commercial service activities

- Ecotourism is the strength of Xuan Son Commune, bringing significant income to local people The main types of tourism include: eco-tourism; community tourism, cultural tourism; travel resort visit

- The tourism activities bring income to people living in the area, while raising awareness in forest protection, environmental protection, ecology and landscape However, the new tourism service activities are concentrated in the center of Xuan Son Commune, the trade services are mainly retailing of daily necessities and homestay for tourists, so the number of visitors is not much

3.4.3 Income of the people

- The average income in the core zone and buffer zone of the National Park is about 7.9 million VND / person / year The main source of income of the people in the area is mainly agricultural production, livestock breeding

3.7 Education

- Education has primary and secondary schools The village has a basic class from grade

1 to grade 5, teachers are mostly people in the district The number of students in primary attending school is 100% However, the number of middle and high school students in school

is about 70% - Most of the classrooms and teachers' rooms are built solidly

CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 The current status of resources and use of some medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park, Tan Son district, Phu Tho province

4.1.1 Current situation of medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park

The survey results and interviews recorded 182 species of medicinal plants in study area Some precious medicinal plants need to be conserved in Table 4.1 and for more detail in appendix

Table 4.1: Current situation of medicinal plants in Xuan Son National Park

No Scientific name Vietnamese

longifolia Craib

Hoàng tinh hoa trắng

The table result show, there are 22 medicinal plants belonging to 19 families 3 the levels

of endanger species based on Vietnam Red List or IUCN: 12 VU, 6EN, 1LR They are some previous medical plants, which are conserved specially in Xuan Son National Park

To assess the diversity, we continue to count on the number of species and families living in the following table:

Table 4.2: Statistics of medicinal plant components in live form

The survey results show, on the 4 transect lines in the National park, there are 182 medicinal plants belonging to 80 plant families, the variety of medicinal plants (182 species), plant diversity (80 families), varied life forms (herbaceous plants, woody plants, vines), value diversity (medicine, ornamental plants )

4.1.2 The status of using medicinal plant resources

The results of interviews with 60 villagers / 4 hamlets in the commune showed that 45 people knew how to use forest medicine (75%), 5 people knew the distribution of forest trees and did not know how to use it, 10 people do not know how to use and do not know where to distribute (17%)

4.1.3 The variety of parts used

The study of the components used to effectively source materials and orientation when analyzing the chemical composition as well as its pharmacy According to traditional medicine experience in the use of medicinal plants, different parts of plants are used for different purposes On the other hand, the same part of the plant also has different effects but depends on the way the physician uses it We have listed the parts of medicinal plants used by ethnic minorities for medical treatment The results are shown in the following table:

Table 4.3: The variety of parts used in medicine