Native to China where deforestation has significantly reduced the population
Distribution
China: Anhui (Jingzhai, Yuexi), Henan (Shangcheng), Hubei (Luotian, Yingshan). The extent of occurence is less than 20,000km² and there are fewer than ten locations.
Habitat and Ecology
This variety occurs in mountains at elevations between 900 and 1400m and sometimes grows on exposed rocky cliff sides.
Human Uses
Probably only used locally for timber and/or firewood.
Conservation Status
Global status and rationale
Vulnerable A1acd; B1ab(iii,iv)
This variety has been previously assessed as Endangered under A1, implying a past reduction of the population of at least 70% (Wang and Xie 2004). This may be an estimate on the high side, and no quantitative data is available to support this claim. Based on the available information this taxon meets the criteria for VU under both A2 and B1.
Global threats
This variety is known from disjunct localities in a limited area where three provinces meet and where deforestation is known to occur and has occurred for a long time.
Conservation Actions
It is uncertain if the general logging ban imposed by the Chinese Government has an impact on the decline observed to have occurred in this variety of Pinus armandii.
References and further reading
Farjon, A. (2005). Pines. Drawings and descriptions of the genus Pinus. Second edition. E. J. Brill, Leiden.
Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Farjon, A. (2013). Pinus armandii var. dabeshanensis. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 13 July 2013.
Xiang, X.Y., Z.X. Zhang, R.Y. Duan, X.P. Zhang & G.L. Wu (2015). Genetic diversity and structure of Pinus dabeshanensis revealed by expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 61:70-77.
