Native to China in is a high montane to subalpine habitats. It has suffered a decline due to logging
Distribution
Within China it has been recorded Hebei, Nei Monggol [Inner Mongolia], Shaanxi, Shanxi (Wutai Shan), Hebei (Xiao Wutai Shan, Wuling Shan). It may also occur in southern Gansu.
It is a principal component of the conifer forests on the Wutai and Xiao Wutai mountains and occurs in a broad belt across north central China. The overall population trend is decreasing.
Habitat and Ecology
Picea meyeri is a high montane to subalpine species, occurring at elevations between 1600 m and 2700 m a.s.l., often restricted to the N-facing slopes of the mountains. The soils are partly mountain brown earth, usually podzolized and non calcareous. The climate is cold, continental, especially in the western part of the range, with a moderate annual precipitation (500 to 800 mm). It grows in pure stands or mixed with Picea wilsonii, Abies nephrolepis, and Larix gmelinii var. principis rupprechtii, the latter at elevations above 2100 m a.s.l. on Wutai Shan.
Human Uses
Meyer's spruce is an important timber tree in northern China, harvested both from natural stands and from plantations. The wood is used for house building and other construction, foot bridges, poles, furniture making, and also, especially the plantation timber, for wood pulp used in industrial manufacturing. It is also used in dendroclimatological studies.
This species is in cultivation for afforestation and as an ornamental tree in arboreta, parks, and large gardens, in China and (as a garden tree only) in Europe and North America.
Conservation Status
Global Status and Rationale
Picea meyeri has suffered an estimated decline in area of occupancy of 25-30% within the last 100 years (two generations). It is therefore listed as Near Threatened until the next assessment (almost qualifies for listing as threatened under criterion A2cd).
Global Threats
Further loss of habitat following felling (including where non-local conifers are used in restocking) or conversion of forest to agriculture are likely to be the most serious threats.
Conservation Actions
The species is in a few protected areas. The ban on logging imposed by the Chinese Government in 2002 should reduce future habit loss.
References and further reading
Fang, K., R.J. Petit & Jian Quan Liu 2009. More introgression with less gene flow: chloroplast vs. mitochondrial DNA in the Picea asperata complex in China, and comparison with other Conifers. Journal of Molecular Ecology 18:1396-1407.
Farjon, A. 2010. A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden
Li, W.-H. 2004. Degradation and restoration of forest ecosystems in China. Forest Ecology and Management 201: 33-41.
Lockwood, J., J. Aleksic, J. Zou, J. Wang, J. Liu & S. Renner 2013. A new phylogeny for the genus Picea from plastid, mitochondrial, and nuclear sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69:717-727.
Wang, X., J. Lu, W. Yue, L. Li, J. Zou, X. Li, X. He, B. Duan & J. Liu 2016. Determining the extent and direction of introgression between three spruce species based on molecular markers from three genomes with different rates of gene flow. Plant Systematics and Evolution 302:691-701.
Zhang, D & Rushforth, K. 2013. Picea meyeri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T42330A2973103. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42330A2973103.en. Downloaded on 14 December 2016.
