Abies fargesii Franch.:Fragile yet Dominant Species on High Mountains

What do you think of when you hear Bashan Lengshan (Abies fargesii Franch.)? You might think of Daba Mountains, a general term for the mountains located at the junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hubei provinces. You might also think of fir trees, which may grow on high and cold mountains, standing tall and green all year round.

Abies fargesii Franch. stands out as the protagonist in the plant communities at elevations above 2,400 meters in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi, above 2,600 meters in Shennongjia, between 2,400 and 2,600 meters in the Daba Mountains, and between 1,800 and 2,100 meters in the Funiu Mountain.

It is quite prominent on the high mountains in western and central China and was discovered by a foreign plant hunter who came to China early on. The species epithet “fargesii” in its scientific name is in honor of its discoverer, French missionary Paul Guillaume Farges (1844–1912). Farges arrived in China in 1867 and served at Chongqing for a long time. As an amateur plant hunter, he collected over 4,000 plant specimens in and around Chongqing, many of which were previously unknown to the Western scientific community. These specimens were sent to the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.

Light and soft, the wood of Abies fargesii Franch. is not considered of good quality, suitable only for general construction, furniture and wood fiber industry. It is distributed in areas such as Dalongtan, Xiaolongtan, Jinhouling, and Taiziya in Shennongjia National Park. Since the 1970s, large tracts of primary Abies fargesii Franch. forest have disappeared due to massive deforestation. Being a widely distributed species on high mountains in central and western China, Abies fargesii Franch. is rated as Least Concern (LC). However, in recent years, due to indiscriminate logging, unbalanced felling and planting, and other human disturbances, its population has declined in many areas alongside decreasing primary forests. Its seeds are mainly dispersed by wind. However, within the population, the effect of wind is not obvious, and many seeds stick to the seed scales, causing the seeds to mainly fall within the crown range of the mother tree, hindering the spread of seeds to new open spaces outside the population. Additionally, the seed is of poor quality, with many non-viable seeds. This means that once destructive logging has taken place, there will be little or no seed dispersal in situ and new seedlings will be difficult to grow. The restoration of destroyed Abies fargesii Franch. forests in the primary forests currently mainly relies on the artificial planting of new saplings. No data is yet available on the genetic diversity. Abies fargesii Franch. grows slowly. According to a batch of Abies fargesii Franch. planted in Shennongjia around 1980, after more than 20 years, the trees only grow to 10-12 meters, with an average diameter at breast height of 20-25 centimeters. Another study suggests that it grows about 30 centimeters in height each year and a 10-year-old tree is about 4 meters high. In short, once destroyed, the recovery will require an extremely long time.（By He Rui）