Conservation and development of medicinal plants under the forest canopy in Pu Hu Nature Reserve

Pu Hu Nature Reserve staff check the growth of the Morinda officinalis plant in Hien Chung commune (Quan Hoa).

According to the investigation results, Pu Hu Nature Reserve currently has up to 669 species of medicinal plants. However, due to long-term unscientific exploitation, the reserves of some precious medicinal plants have decreased, some species are at risk of local extinction. In order to preserve and develop medicinal plants in the nature reserve, in recent years, through scientific activities, Pu Hu Nature Reserve has implemented a number of scientific programs and projects to preserve and develop typical medicinal plants, initially bringing certain successes while strictly protecting natural forests, completely preventing people from entering the forest to exploit medicinal plants, such as: Project "Conservation and development of 2 medicinal plants Morinda officinalis and Sa nhân in Hien Chung commune"; Topic "Research and development of medicinal plants Ophiopogon japonicus and Bai bu"; "Investigation, conservation and development of some medicinal plants under the forest canopy in Pu Hu Nature Reserve"; task "Research and experimental cultivation of Ganoderma lucidum under the forest canopy"; “Experimental planting of cinnamon trees”. Up to now, after many years of experimental planting, the results show that these medicinal plants are easy to plant, easy to care for and grow very well under the canopy of planted forests. The unit has organized the replication of the model of planting purple cardamom in buffer zone communes, such as: Nam Tien 1ha, Hien Chung 1ha, Trung Ly 2ha and purple Morinda officinalis 1ha in Hien Chung commune; conducted experimental planting of 1ha of Ophiopogon japonicus, 1ha of Cynomorium barbarum, 1ha of yellow flower tea, 1ha of Cat Sam. Along with that, the unit has promoted propaganda and mobilized people to participate in forest management and protection and rational exploitation of medicinal plants in the buffer zone. Thanks to that, up to now in the natural forest, many medicinal plants of woody stems and magnolia stems are regenerating in large numbers.

Mr. Do Ngoc Duong, Director of Pu Hu Nature Reserve, said: “The successful implementation of the project to conserve and develop medicinal plants in the Nature Reserve has helped the unit come up with solutions to conserve and develop populations of rare medicinal plants and is also an important data base to replicate this medicinal plant model in the buffer zones of the Nature Reserve.”

From the initial success in the conservation of medicinal plants, Pu Hu Nature Reserve is currently continuing to expand the model of growing medicinal plants under the canopy of natural forests and production forests. At the same time, continue to effectively implement scientific topics on the conservation and development of medicinal plants under the canopy of forests in the direction of commodity production, applying organic agricultural production, and applying high technology. Coordinate with scientific research organizations, research on genetic resources and medicinal plant varieties to conserve and exploit genetic resources, develop varieties, and medicinal plant cultivation techniques... Thereby, contributing to the conservation and development of precious medicinal plants, while creating livelihoods to contribute to hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and improving the lives of people in the core and buffer zones, helping them feel secure in protecting the forest.

Article and photos: Khac Cong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/bao-ton-va-phat-trien-cay-duoc-lieu-duoi-tan-rung-o-khu-bao-ton-thien-nhien-pu-hu-246944.htm