Study On The Assessment Of Present Situation And Potential Of Terrestrial Plant Resources In Wudongde Reservior, Jinsha River

Plant resources are the combination of all plants which are useful to human being, directly or indirectly, in a certain time, space, cultural background and economic condition. The assessment of plant resources is to estimate and speculate the value of plants for the sake of bringing in benefits for humans.Wudongde reservoir locates in the dry-hot valley of Jinsha river which is within the boundary of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. The climate there is dry while rich in heat, and the local vegetation is secondary semi-savanna with a unique look and flora. There has been a thorough study of the vegetation, flora and endemic plants of Jinsha hot-dry valley region, and certain studies has been made on the use of main plant resources.Two times of field surveys have been carried out on the terrestrial plants and vegetation of this region on December 2008 and August 2009, respectively. There are 66 quadrats in total and 500 plant specimens have been preserved. In combination of data inquiries, interviews, market surveys and remote sensing approaches, we conclude that the terrestrial plants of the region can be divided into 132 families,493 genus and 781 species. Among them there are 111 families,380 genus and 604 species of natural plants. The flora there has an obvious tropic origin and there are many kinds of Chinese and local endemic species. The terrestrial vegetation is mostly composed of Quercus franchetii, Dodonaea viscose and Heteropogon contortus, which are good examples of the local semi-savanna vegetation. There are 132 families,489 genus and 764 species of resource plants in this region. According to the classification system raised by Wu Zhengyi in 1983, all the resource plants can be divided into 5 main categories and 24 minor ones, including edible plants, medicinal plants, industrial plants, plants for protecting and improving the environment and plant germplasm. Abundant in varieties, diversified ways of utilization, strong regional nature, many endemic species, low in reservation and minority nationality are the characters of the regional plant resources. In addition, in the light of that there is a large population of minorities in such a unique dry-hot area, we carry out a preliminary research of the ethnic plants and rich endemic plants of the region.The index-summation method is used to study the potential of plant resources.6 evaluating indicators including habitat demands, regenerative power, frequency, abundance, intensity of utilization and exploitation value are selected to grade and evaluate the exploitation and utilization potential of 30 different plants.On the basis of former research work, we are the first to investigate, study and assess the current situation and development potential of Wudongde reservoir according to the systematic classifying method. In addition to summarizing, replenishing and perfect the theories and methods of the assessment of plant resources, we made a preliminary study of the ethnic plants and rich endemic plants of the region. Results of this paper can provide certain theoretic references and basis to further investigate the characteristics of plants of dry-hot valley, as well as explore approaches for sustainable development and utilization of plant resources, especially endemic and rare plant species in this region.