The conservation of Metasequoia glyptostroboides and its current problems in China
水杉的保护历程和存在的问题

The history of conservation of dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), in a sense, is a miniature of the history of conservation of Chinese rare and endangered plants since New China was foun- ded more than 50 years ago. The establishment of Hubei Province Xingdoushan National Nature Reserve mainly to protect dawn redwood is an important milestone in the development and history of protection of dawn redwood. Understanding this history is beneficial for effectively formulating plans and adopting measures for the future in situ protection and ex situ conservation of dawn redwood. The history of conser- vation of dawn redwood is reviewed in this paper. Based on an analysis of the current situation and cur- rent problems for dawn redwood, four detailed conservation measures are suggested: (1) to continuously improve the conditions of nature reserves for the natural seed-source trees of dawn redwood, and to design a long-term programs to protect them. The organization and personnel as well as the funds should meet the needs for protection of the original natural seed-source trees of dawn redwood and their habitat; (2) to effectively implement relevant laws for protection of dawn redwood; (3) to establish a gene-conservation forest in order to fully preserve all the original natural founder trees' genes of dawn redwood; and (4) to actively coordinate the relationships among environmental protection agencies, forestry agencies, units of the Academy of Sciences, and other education and research units. We should cooperate and help each other in the fields of protecting dawn redwood and other natural resources by means of scientific research and exchange of research experiences.