Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2023 | 15(9): 23928–23930
ISSN 0974-7907
(Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8059.15.9.23928-23930
#8059 | Received 16
June 2022 | Final received 15 August 2023 | Finally accepted 18 August 2023
First record of the Western Himalayan Yew Taxus contorta
(Gymnosperms: Cupressales: Taxaceae)
from Lumbini Province, Nepal
Santa Bahadur Thing 1,
Deepak Raj Prakash Janga Shahi 2 &
Shashi Shrestha 3
1–3 Ministry of Forests, Environment
and Soil Conservation, Lumbini Province, Nepal.
1 Current address: Division Forest
Office, Kapilvastu, Taulihawa,
Nepal.
1 sonam.lama200@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 deepakthakuri132@gmail.com, 3 shrestha.shashi2015@gmail.com
Editor: D.S. Rawat, G.B. Pant University of
Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, India Date of publication: 26 September
2023 (online & print)
Citation: Thing, S.B., D.R.P.J. Shahi & S. Shrestha (2023). First record
of the Western Himalayan Yew Taxus contorta
(Gymnosperms: Cupressales: Taxaceae)
from Lumbini Province, Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(9): 23928–23930. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8059.15.9.23928-23930
Copyright: © Thing et al. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium
by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Division Forest Office, Rolpa. Ministry of Forests, Environment and Soil Conservation, Lumbini Province.
Annual Programme of the Fiscal Year, 2077/078.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Division
Forest Office, Rolpa; divisional forest officer Mr. Dadhi Lal Kandel and forest officers Mr. Birendra Kumar
Roka, Mr. Baburam Pokharel and forest guard Mr. Sahadev Chaudhary for their support to complete this piece
of work. We also acknowledge Mr. Rajan Dumre for helping me to prepare the study map.
Yews (Taxus spp.) are
among the most threatened plant species within the Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH)
region including Nepal (Mulliken & Crofton 2008).
Due to over exploitation of the species for the production of anticancer drugs
and in some areas intense local use for medicine, timber, and fodder the
natural yew populations along the HKH region have been cleared up to 90% over
the last few decades (Schippmann 2001; Mohapatra et
al. 2009). Delayed germination (1.5–2 years) of its seeds and poor survival
rate of seedlings have further accelerated the decline of yew population in the
Himalaya (Rikhari et al. 1998). Despite its
threatened (EN) status, little information is available regarding the size and
status of its populations (Iqbal et al. 2019). Even the taxonomic identification
of species remained controversial in Nepal till the year 2012 (Poudel et al.
2012). The Forest Regulation, 1995 named the taxus
species found in Nepal as Taxus baccata in its
annex till 12 October 2015, which was corrected and named as Taxus contorta Griff., Taxus wallichiana
Zucc., and Taxus mairei
(Lemée & H. Léveillé)
S.Y. Hu ex T.S. Liu in its fifth amendment in the year 2015.
Currently, a total of 13 (four in
North and South America, one in Europe and eight in Asia) species of Taxus
have been identified in the world (Gao et al. 2007; Farjon
2010; Liu et al. 2011). The threatened Western Himalayan Yew T. contorta is one among three of the Taxus species
(T. contorta, T. mairei,
T. wallichiana) found in Nepal (Thomas 2011;
Poudel et al. 2012, 2014; Bhatt et al. 2017). It is assumed to be distributed
sparsely over Darchula District in the far western
region to the northern belt of Gorkha District in the central region of Nepal
(Poudel et al. 2014). It has been recorded from several districts of three of
the seven provinces of Nepal (Bhatt et al. 2017). However, this is the first
record from Lumbini Province, Nepal.
T. contorta is a medium-sized dioecious
evergreen tree species which grows naturally within the elevation range of
2,000–3,500 m in Nepal and the recorded height of T. contorta
in Nepal is 25–30 m (Bhatt et al. 2017). The species has diagnostic
characters such as bud scales few, ovoid, persistent at the base of branchlets;
leaves arranged irregularly, pectinate, usually linear, equally wide throughout
length, base cuneate, mostly symmetric, apex acute, midrib papillate, midrib
& leaf margin underneath not shiny, loosely arranged (6–9) stomatal bands,
margin revolute-incurving when dried (Poudel et al. 2012).
During the transect walk survey
conducted on March–April 2021 along the four distinct elevation gradient
of 2,000–2,400 m, 2,400–2,800 m, 2,800–3,200 m, and 3,200–3,600 m in Thawang
Rural Municipality (28.500N, 82.710E) of Rolpa District in Lumbini Province, we recorded T. contorta
in at least
55 locations (Image 1). Taxus contorta is
recorded mostly (90%) in the northern aspect along the wet sites, a habitat
also mentioned in earlier literature (Poudel et al. 2012; Bhatt et al. 2017),
with slopes more than 35 degrees, crown cover more than 70% and elevation range
of 2,424–3,002 m. The species was recorded at sites away from human dominated
landscapes where anthropogenic activities are either minimum or totally absent.
The species was found in association with Picea
smithiana Wall., Tsuga
dumosa (D.Don)
Eichler, Quercus semecarpifolia Sm., Abies pindrow D.Don, Rhododendron arboreum Sm.
(Freitag 1971; Rau 1974; Sapru 1975), Daphne bholua D.Don, Rhododendron
barbatum Wall., and Himalayacalamus
asper Stapleton in the temperate forest.
In western Nepal, T. contorta populations are on a satisfactory level inside
the protected areas (Api-Nampa Conservation Area, Khaptad National Park, Rara
National Park, and Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve),
however, it is sporadically distributed outside the protected areas (Bhatt et
al. 2017). Furthermore, the T. contorta is an
‘Endangered’ species (Thomas 2011), and these newly located populations provide
an opportunity for in-depth study of their niche and associated site specific threats that will further aid in developing
community engagement conservation programmes outside
the protected area. Also, the species is facing a threat due to illegal felling
for timber and leaves, improper harvesting methods, loss of its natural
habitat, unmanaged grazing, delayed germination and lower survival rate.
Therefore, it is comprehended to conserve them in-situ and promote its revival
through nursery cultivation and plantation initiatives.
For
images - - click here for full PDF
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