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

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