Golden Camellia as a Driver of Forest Regeneration and Conservation: A Case Study of Value-Chain Forestry with Camellia quephongensis in Que Phong, Nghe An, North-Central Vietnam

Abstract

Golden camellia is a highly valued commercial plant owing to its flowers’ medicinal substances. One species of golden camellia, Camellia quephongensis Hakoda et Ninh, is used as a non-timber forest product for value-chain forestry (VCF) in Que Phong District, Nghe An Province, North-Central Vietnam; its production and sale is an important business activity which contributes substantially to local livelihood improvement. According to previous studies and in situ observation, golden camellias, including C. quephongensis, inhabit regenerated forests, especially along streams and rivers. This encourages VCF with C. quephongensis to function as a driver of forest regeneration and conservation. However, the ecological aspect of this species in regenerated forests is poorly understood. Thus, this study aimed to determine this species’ growth patterns and population expansion during forest regeneration. We surveyed the morphological characteristics of this species at different ages in several populations, and revealed that the plants reached a tree height of 150 cm and started blooming eight years after germination. Comparing C. quephongensis-populations inhabiting different succession-staged forests, we observed that the population in long-term regenerated forests was significantly larger and had a pyramid-shaped age distribution pattern to possibly expand its population size. Based on this, we conclude that C. quephongensis is a good indicator of forest regeneration and contributes to local livelihoods and forest regeneration and conservation.

Habitat Characteristics of Camellia quephongensis and Adaptation Mechanisms in Que Phong District, North-Central Vietnam

“…This area is surrounded by high mountain ranges, including a river network flowing down to the district center, forming the Hieu River. 2c) [15]. CM2 and NS are anthropogenically created patches that consist of trees transplanted from CM1 and nearby NS areas, respectively.…”

“…Mountain slopes in this area, especially those near communities, have been widely used for slush-and-burn farming since 1992. It was banned by the local government in 1996; consequently, the regenerated evergreen broad-leaved forests, logged areas of CM 2c) [15]. CM2 and NS are anthropogenically created patches that consist of trees transplanted from CM1 and nearby NS areas, respectively.…”

“…Mountain slopes in this area, especially those near communities, have been widely used for slush-and-burn farming since 1992. It was banned by the local government in 1996; consequently, the regenerated evergreen broad-leaved forests, logged areas of CM surroundings decreased from 31.9% to 11.9%, and the PT-included area was also under a similar situation [15].…”

“…Of the five species of yellow-flowered camellia in North-Central Vietnam, four (C. vuquangensis, C. pukhangensis, C. puhoatensis, C. ngheanensis) are endangered according to the International Union for Conservation Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria [4][5][6][7], and C. quephongensis is at risk of diminishing populations owing to sapling transplantation and unregulated exploitation of flowers from naturally growing trees [15]. To conserve this taxon, we must understand the ecological aspects, not only the external appearance of the habitats but also the physical and biological factors that establish them.…”

“…In terms of C. quephongensis, Le et al ( 2021) [1] and Takahashi et al ( 2023) [15] described its habitats; however, its adaptation mechanisms have not been elucidated. In this study, we reviewed the habitats of this species, and subsequently used landscape ecological methods to understand the relationship between vegetation and topographical features of the habitats.…”