Text | Jinghuaiqiao
"China Science News" reporter Li Yun
It is definitely a very interesting thing to discover a new species and name it by yourself.
Behind the discovery is meticulous work: not only to find clues in the mountains and plains, but also to form a complete "evidence chain" in the laboratory, and finally discover the "truth" of the new species.
And Li Xinwei, associate researcher at Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is the "Detective Sherlock Holmes" in the mountains and fields. Together with his collaborators, he has discovered 16 new species since 2010.
In 2018, Li Xinwei conducted a field survey in Wuzhai Village, Zhaotong, Yunnan.
Orchid Impatiens published by Li Xinwei et al. in 2020.
Plume leaves priming in spring in Hubei Province Photo courtesy of Wuhan Botanical Garden
The discovery of new species is an individual effort
It’s around 7 a.m., which is the time for many birds to forage for food.
Li Xinwei packed up his equipment and prepared for going up the mountain.
"When engaged in botanical classification research, it is common to go out into the field. During the peak period, more than half of the year is spent running in the mountains." Li Xinwei said.
Li Xinwei mainly lives in the mountains and forests of Hubei.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, he went up the mountain under the leadership of local villagers and started his day's work.
"Only when you actually go up the mountain can you know what the eighteen bends of the mountain road are. Even if you have discovered a new species and have a GPS point with precise longitude and latitude, you may not be able to find it when it is foggy and rainy. Therefore, local guides are very important. " Li Xinwei said that he usually doesn't go down the mountain until dark.
When working outdoors for 9 to 10 hours a day, mountaineering equipment becomes even more important. In his backpack, cameras, specimen holders , magnifying glasses and other equipment are all conventional equipment.
"The equipment for going up the mountain should be as light as possible, but the total weight of the entire bag should still start at 10 kilograms. Because you need to reserve space to carry fresh water, you usually need to bring 2 bottles. In hot and humid environments like Yunnan, this will double." plant for more than 20 years Taxonomy experience has allowed Li Xinwei to accumulate a lot of wilderness survival skills.
In his opinion, one must first keep up with physical fitness when working in the field.
"Climbing a 1,000-meter mountain is equivalent to climbing a 300-story high-rise building." Li Xinwei said that the stones on the mountain road are slippery and there are many thorns.
You can usually walk up to 25 to 30 kilometers on mountain roads in a day, but the physical exertion is not comparable to walking.
In the mountains, walking through the bamboo forest was the most painful time for him.
"The bamboo forest on the mountain is very dense and sultry. It is easy to sweat when walking on the mountain road. The bamboo leaves fall on the body and it is very itchy, and you can't go bare-chested." This kind of situation is very common in western Hubei and Chongqing surrounding areas. but.
is on the road for better discovery. In a day's work, taking pictures, collecting data, and pressing specimens are the highlights.
How to discover the unique characteristics of plants in a complex environment is a test of eyesight.
"Some species are easy to identify, such as the orchid impatiens. The one I saw for the first time was more than 3 meters tall. The plant shape and stem color are different from known species, so it is relatively easy to identify." In 2020, Li Xinwei published a new species of impatiens discovered in Zhuxi, Hubei. It is currently the tallest impatiens plant in my country.
But more often than not, discovering clues to a new species requires careful observation.
Sometimes in order to obtain reliable and complete morphological, phenological and ecological data, it is necessary to repeatedly go to the mountains to observe and collect, and conduct cultivation experiments, which lasts for more than ten years.
This year, the new species announced by Li Xinwei is the snow gallbladder. The first time I saw this plant was in Shiyan, Hubei Province in 2010.
"Every plant has its own unique beauty, which makes me always curious about plants and hopes to explore and research in depth." Li Xinwei said when talking about the reasons for discovering new species.
High-frequency "new releases" witness biodiversity
"In the eyes of ordinary people, it may be just a piece of grass. But in botany, these new species represent the richness of biological diversity."
Li Xinwei said that if you cannot appreciate the unique beauty of each plant, it may be difficult to do a good job in conservation.
In recent years, with the enhancement of the awareness of conservation in the whole society, in-situ conservation efforts represented by protected areas and national parks have Protection and ex-situ conservation represented by botanical gardens complement each other, and the system is more complete.
Currently, there are approximately 24,000 species of ex-situ protected plants in China.
The degree of threat to plant diversity is constantly decreasing, and more and more species are endangered. Plants have been effectively protected.
Some species that were thought to have disappeared in the past have reappeared.
Category chinensis was first discovered by the British botanist Wilson in Xingshan, Hubei, and has not been discovered again for nearly a hundred years. However, it was once thought to be extinct.
In 2001, Jiang Mingxi, a researcher at the Wuhan Botanical Garden, rediscovered this species in Wufeng, Hubei.
"These discoveries not only enrich the plant map of China, but also reflect the ecological environment from the side. The change. "Li Xinwei said that now the most common animal in the wild is wild boar.
On several occasions, he has had close contact with wild boar. "In fact, the little wild boar is very beautiful, with patterns on its body."
In addition, During the scientific expedition, I had a lot of experiences passing by serow, goral, yellow-throated marten
“It’s often a dark shadow jumping out of the forest, takin, forest musk deer. was hard to see before, but now it is more common. "He said.
There are more wild animals, and scientific research work needs to be extra careful.
"In the past, black bears ran away when they saw humans because they were afraid of being hunted. Now, when we see a black bear, we stay far away for fear of being attacked. "In Li Xinwei's view, these all show that the emphasis on clear waters and green mountains in recent years has restored the ecology.
"When surveying plants in the field, I saw many birds. Now I can name several common birds, such as red-billed blue magpie , white pheasant , horned pheasant . "
Li Xinwei said that while the ecological environment has improved, people's awareness of environmental protection has become stronger and stronger. Now, field scientific expeditions will be carried out jointly with local protected areas. "Everyone hopes to find out their family background, and scientific researchers will carry out their work." It’s also more convenient."
"Discovering new species is just the beginning of a lot of work. "Li Xinwei said that nowadays, people not only pay attention to the protection of rare plants, but also focus on the reproduction of rare plants, multiplying more offspring, and then helping them return to the mountains and forests to expand the wild population.
In the future, in addition to paying attention to suspected new taxa , Li Xinwei will also have an in-depth understanding of plant species, habits, distribution, living conditions, uses, as well as propagation, cultivation and maintenance techniques, etc., and improve the public's plant protection awareness through plant conservation and display.
