August 2006 - Fall - Garden

Mua Thu mua hoa cuc - mua thu buon - Fall is season of Chrysanthemum's flowers - Fall makes me sad.

Website link to Education for Nature

WWF - EFN grantees : http://www.wwf-efn.org/grantees2004.cfm

MUA THU LA RUNG - MUA THU BUON

Nhin mua thu dang qua di, cam giac trong long thay buon! Photos NMC

Glass exhibitions - MBG

Photos NMC

Photos NMC

I am now studying in UMSL - MBG - SAIN LOUIS

Cuoc song binh yen. Nguyen Manh Cuong

This is a Saurauia macrotricha Kurz. I am now studying in UMSL. I went back to the fieldwork last summer. I was a great summer. I went to Lao Cai, Sapa, Hoang Lien Son National Park. This species collected from Hoang Lien Son National Park.

I was born in Cuc Phuong National Park and grew up close to nature. Everyday when I wake up, I hear the birds singing near my house. When I went to the forest, I saw animals in the wild. I remembered what I learned in primary school when my teacher said that humans can live in harmony with nature, and nature can support and sustain us. In 1962, Cuc Phuong was established as the first National Park in Vietnam. Even as a National Park, because of its large size and it was practically unprotected throughout its area, local people living in and around the park over-exploited the natural resources. After 20 years, the area of primary forest had been reduced because of forest clearing for agriculture, animal poaching, illegal logging, and collection of firewood and stone for housing construction. Since 1992, I have worked at Cuc Phuong National Park as the park’s botanist. In 1994, the park sent me to study for my bachelor’s degree in biology at Hanoi National University, majoring in plat taxonomy. I retuned to Cuc Phuong and worked with the Science and International Cooperation Department at Cuc Phuong National Park. I have been involved in several conservation projects in the park, especially the study of climbing plants (lianas) supported by Flora and Fauna International (FFI) and the study of biodiversity in the park supported by the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) based at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The presence of non-government organizations (NGOs) doing conservation work in the park gave me the encouragement and motivation to participate in conservation efforts in Cuc Phuong National Park. As a result of collection and inventory work on seed plants of Cuc Phuong National Park (http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/plantatlas) Plants of Cuc Phuong National Park

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Families from A to Z
ACANTHACEAE
ACERACEAE
ACTINIDIACEAE
ALANGIACEAE
AMARANTHACEAE
ANACARDIACEAE
ANNONACEAE
ANTHERICACEAE
APOCYNACEAE
AQUIFOLIACEAE
ARACEAE
ARALIACEAE
ARISTOLOCHIACEAE
ASCLEPIADACEAE

Under the ICBG program. My plan for my Master’s degree program in Biology is to study plant taxonomy with an emphasis on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. I feel strongly that the conservation of biodiversity in Vietnam must be a priority for my studies and the focus of my career. My professional goals include working with Vietnamese government in some capacity as a Conservation Manager with focus on developing and implementing sustainable conservation plans and performing conservation research that will contribute to the long-term protection of the ecosystems and the threatened plants in Vietnam. My training at University of Missouri at Saint Louis (UMSL) will provide me with an understanding of the modern approaches and theories of biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.

Cuc Phuong National Park - Flora and Fauna

Colocasia gigantea (Blume) Hook.f. Photo NMC

Vietorchis aurea Aver. & Averyanova Photo NMC

Biodiversity Conservation in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam
I. Introduction

Cuc Phuong National Park was established in 1962 as Vietnam’s first national Park (Vo, Q. et al 1996). Cuc Phuong is a hilly landscape located about 120 km southwest of Hanoi, at the boundary intersection of three provinces: Hoa Binh to the northwest, Thanh Hoa to the south and southwest, and Ninh Binh to the east. The geographic location is between 105o29' E to 105o44' E longitudes and between 20o14' N and 20o24' N latitudes (Vo, Q. et all 1996). Administratively, the park belongs to Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh province. Satellite imagery (Fig.1) shows that the park has a more or less oval shape, with two ranges of limestone hills [elevations of 400-500 m] that run almost parallel to each other for about 25 km, separated by a narrow valley. The total surface area of the Park is 22,220 hectares, of which 20,480 hectares are covered by core zone and 1,740 hectares of edge (buffer) zone (Vo, Q et all 1996). Cuc Phuong is a large protected area forming the easternmost part of an extensive limestone hill system emanating from the Son La and Moc Chau plateaus in northern Vietnam, which spreads along Song Da river from China border to the seacoast of Tonkin Gulf (Vo, Q. et al 1996). Ancient limestone marine deposits have weathered into spectacular karst topography with numerous scattered remnant narrow rocky ridges and hill with vertical cliffs. These rocky remnants composed of solid highly metamorphosed eroded marble Paleozoic and Mesozoic limestone and form a landscape that globally represents an important example of a karst ecosystem with typical limestone flora of mainland tropical Asia (Tran Quang Chuc 1999). Cuc Phuong is comprised of unique lowland karst limestone forest communities where there exists an outstandingly rich flora of trees, herbs, and lianas, especially in wet and humid alluvial valleys placed among narrow rocky remnant ridges. Many species are local endemics on limestone with very limited distribution (Soejarto et all 2004).

The greater portion of the broadleaf tropical evergreen forest cover found in the Cuc Phuong National Park is of the primary type, covering the steep limestone slopes and peaks. Therefore, Cuc Phuong has diverse microhabitats, made up of hill, slope, and valley forests. Some streams also run along the valley. This diversity of microhabitats has produced rich species diversity.

II. Flora and Fauna

As proof of the species richness, Cuc Phuong National Park is known to harbor 28% of all plants species of Vietnam (Thin, 1997). According to a recently published plant inventory, 2073 vascular plant species, in 926 genera and 249 families (Soejarto et al., 2004) are found at Cuc Phuong National Park. Of this number, at least 1,906 species belong to the angiosperms or flowering plants. Species diversity in the flora of Cuc Phuong is best represented by the families Acanthaceae, Orchidaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae, Lauraceae, Poaceae, and Asteraceae (Davis et al., 1995; Soejarto et al., 2004). The flora of Cuc Phuong National Park contains elements of the Sino-Himalayan, Indo-Burmese, and Malesian floras (Thin, 1997). Cuc Phuong is also known for a high number of endemic species, such as Potinia cucphuonensis, Begonia cucphuongensis, Pistacia cucphuongensis, Melastoma trungii, Heritiera cucphuongensis, Vietorchis aurea (Soejarto et al., 2004), and 45 species are listed in the Vietnam Red Book and IUCN Red List. Although the rich flora of Cuc Phuong is a source of genetic diversity that must be protected and conserved for future generations, it is also a resource that may harbor potentially useful plants to man (Thin, 1997; Soejarto et al., 1999). According to an ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants that Muong people used for treatment of different diseases, more than 433 species of medicinal plants have been recorded (Thin, 1997). In animal life, Cuc Phuong also has great diversity of species. According to a recent inventory (Cuc Phuong report), there are 117 species of mammals at Cuc Phuong National Park. Some mammal species are threatened and critically endangered and are listed in the IUCN Red List, such as the Delacour’s Langur (Fig.2) (Trachypithecus delacouri), which is endemic to Northern Vietnam and considered one of the world’s top 25 most endangered primate species (Nadler, T 1996). One vulnerable mammal species on the IUCN Red List (2004) is known as Owston’s palm civet (- Chrotogate owstoni), a small carnivore native to the forests of Northern Vietnam with a very restricted range of distribution. One of the most important predators that have been recently recorded is the nationally threatened leopard (Panthera pardus) (Lao dong (Labor Newspaper, 2000). Furthermore, 54 bat species have also been recorded in the park, of which 28 species live in caves. Unfortunately, several large mammal species, such as the tiger (Panthera tigris), Sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) and White-cheeked gibbon (Hylobates concolor leucogenys), are believed to have become extinct at Cuc Phuong within the last two decades, mainly due to hunting (poaching) pressure and habitat reduction. The avifauna shows 307 species of birds (Nadler, 1995), including two threatened and near-threatened species, such as Chestnut-necklace Partridge (Arborophila charltonii) and red-collared Woodpecker (Picus rabieri). Other taxa have recently been recorded for Cuc Phuong, such as 110 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 65 species of fish; one species of fish is endemic. Based on current studies (Hill et all 1999), Cuc Phuong National Park also harbors a great diversity of species of insects. The number of insect species identified to date is 2000, of the total estimated at 10,000 species.

Cuc Phuong National Park: Birdlife document: http://www.birdlifeindochina.org/source_book/source_book/Red%20River%20Delta/SB%20Cuc%20Phuong.htm http://www.birdlifeindochina.org/source_book/pdf/3%20Red%20River%20Delta/Cuc%20Phuong.pdf

My life as a forest creature: growing up with the Cuc Phuong National Park: This is lovely store: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_2_112/ai_98254968 I am sure that you will like it!!