An extremely endangered community of coarse stem water ferns has been discovered in Zhenjiang city, east China’s Jiangsu province. This is currently the largest coarse stem water fern community discovered in Jiangsu.
In the biodiversity background survey of the Zhenjiang Yangtze River Porpoise Provincial Nature Reserve, coarse stem water fern,a critically endangered species, was discovered over an area of approximately 1200 square meters, making it the largest coarse stem water fern community discovered in Jiangsu to date.
Professor Zhang Xiaoke's team from Anqing Normal University was invited to conduct a scientific research on aquatic plants in the Zhenjiang Yangtze River Porpoise Provincial Nature Reserve. During the investigation, they were surprised to discover a large area of coarse stemmed water ferns, a national second-level key protected wild plant.
“At first, we only found three thick stemmed water ferns. Later, as we walked forward, we discovered this place. You see, it has a very natural large area, a very natural community here”, Zhang Xiaoke, a professor of School of Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, said.
In the river ditch, clusters of thick stemmed water ferns are closely connected and floating on the water surface, with leaves resembling deer antlers.
According to the Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union, the coarse stem water fern is classified as an extremely endangered species. The coarse stem water fern community discovered in Zhenjiang this time is spread over an area of 1200 square meters that are numbered in over 10000, making it very rare.
“Only in areas with very good water quality can large areas grow. We have sampled many places in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and this is the first time we have seen such a large community, which is very shocking”, Cheng Ying, Master's Degree Candidate, School of Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, said.
According to experts, coarse stem water fern is often regarded as an environmental indicator organism as its growth requires high water quality.
The coarse stemmed water fern community discovered this time is mainly distributed in the rivers and ponds of the Zhenjiang Yangtze River Porpoise Provincial Nature Reserve. They grow in patches in the wild, reflecting the effectiveness of local wetland habitat protection.
“According to the latest biodiversity background survey results of the protected area, we have discovered over 500 species of wild animals and plants, including more than 30 rare animals and plants such as white cranes, Oriental white storks, small swans, as well as coarse stem water ferns and wild soybeans”, Wang Zhaogen, Senior Engineer of the Management Office of the Yangtze River Porpoise Provincial Nature Reserve in Zhenjiang, said.
