On June 15th, the Research Department of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) formally approved the establishment of the 154th CCAfa site, the Community Conservation Area for ancient glandular willows (Salix chaenomeloides) at Sanxiao, becoming the third CCAfa site established in Henan Province for the purpose of protecting ancient trees.

Salix chaenomeloides is a species of willow native to Japan, Korea and China. It is a deciduous tree, reaching a height of 10–20 m.

Sanxiao Village, Yaocun Town, Linzhou City, Anyang City, Henan Province, is the source of Anyang’s famous river, the Heng River (Anyang River). In the east of Sanxiao Village, there is the only intersection of three rivers in Henan Province, forming a natural wetland - "Hengheyuan". Sanxiao Village not only has beautiful natural scenery, but also contains profound historical and cultural background.

At present, the glandular willow population here is still little known and has not received any scientific and effective protection. Part of it has also been felled due to the expansion of houses in Sanxiao Village and the expansion of the artificial fishpond area inside the wetland. What is more worrying is that the habitat of the wetland where the population is located is facing the trend of being encroached by reclamation. If the wetland is reclaimed and the water surface artificially rises, the roots of the ancient glandular willow trees will be submerged under the water surface and all will die. In the wave of industrialization and urbanization, the fate of the ancient glandular willow trees in Sanxiao Village is worrying.

Protection work already in progress:

I. Sanxiao Village has registered the geographical indication trademark of "Hengheyuan", which laid a foundation for protecting the natural wetland of "Hengheyuan", that is, the population of the ancient glandular willow;

II. The Eco-Environmental Bureau of Linzhou City has cleaned up industrial waste in the habitat of the ancient glandular willow population according to law, and put the protection of the eco-environment of the ancient gland willow habitat on the work schedule;

III. Up to now, the volunteers have published a number of well-articulated publicity articles to provide detailed and thematic introduction and publicity on the protection of Sanxiao Village's ancient glandular willows on various new media platforms.

Future work plan and outlook:

After the establishment of this CCAfa site, under the leadership of the Director of CCAfa site, the following protection work will be carried out with the relevant departments of Linzhou City, social organizations, volunteers and local people, etc.:

I. Promote the Linzhou Forestry Bureau to hang the nameplate of ancient trees and famous trees, and formally include it in the official protection scope;

II. Under the leadership of Director Wang, promote the establishment of the "Sanxiao ancient glandular willows protection association" in Sanxiao Village to realize the community protection model and establish a grassroots organization to protect the species;

III. Initiated five "study tours about the ancient glandular willows", that is, "Heng River exploration tour"; held one "Linzhou Sanxiao glandular willow experts academic exchange meeting" to deeply explore the scientific knowledge and culture of ancient glandular willows’ significance, tourism economy and protection measures, etc.;

IV. Published about ten graphic reports on the media and new media platforms, condensing the natural culture of the Community Conservation Area for ancient glandular willow at Sanxiao from the connotation and extension;

V. Promote the establishment of the ancient glandular willow wetland park at the source of the Heng River, and actively communicate with the three levels of government agencies in Linzhou city, county, township, and village to ensure that the original ecology of the ancient glandular willow wetland habitat is preserved to avoid river hardening;

VI. Promote relevant government departments at all levels to increase the biodiversity of this CCAfa on the premise of protecting the existing wild glandular willow populations to avoid potential plant diseases and insect pests and other ecological risks caused by too single tree species.

VII. The evaluation and prevention of diseases and insect pests of the ancient glandular willow are carried out every year.

In April 2020, at the invitation of Green Anyang Environmental Volunteer Association and Linzhou Green Taihang Environmental Volunteer Association, an expert group led by Professor Dong Yunlan discovered several wild populations of glandular willow (Salix chaenomeloides) (original variant) with a history of over 100 years at the source of the Heng River and the confluence of the three rivers.

Original Chinese article:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xV8FuEClAcjzkQ_42OeO3Q

By / Maggie, Liu Xiling (Volunteer)