B. Papp szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 38. 2007 (Budapest, 2007)

Rácz, István; Huyen, D. D.: Study of a low-elevation occurrence of Pinus dalatensis Ferré (Pinaceae) in Gia Lai province, Vietnam

Studia bot. bung. 38, pp. 133-142, 2007 STUDY OF A LOW-ELEVATION OCCURRENCE OF PINUS DALA TENSIS FERRÉ (PINACEAE) IN GIA LAI PROVINCE, VIETNAM I. RÁCZ

1 and D. D. HUYEN

2 'Department of Botany, Hungarian Natural History Museum H-1476Budapest, Pf. 222, Hungary; iracz@bot.nhmus.hu 2 Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi, Vietnam, huyen.prosea@fpt.vn A low-elevation primary mixed forest stand with old-growth trees of Pinus dalatensis, a conservationally important conifer species of Vietnam, was studied during field documentation of conifers of the region conducted for the Dendrological Atlas Project. The site was visited following recent reports of a new occurrence of this species in Gia Lai province. Following a preliminary exploration in January 2004 in cooperation with the Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (Hanoi) and the Department of Ecology, Da Lat University (Lam Dong) field documentation was conducted in the Dak Doa district. The forest stand with mature trees of P. dalatensis at 1,070-1,100 m is among the lowest occurrences of the species. The survey included observations on the habitat conditions, documenting the major associated species for our herbaria, and examination of the morphology of the pine specimens. Key words: Gia Lai province, Kon Jot forest, pine distribution, Pinus dalatensis, threatened conifer, Vietnam INTRODUCTION Species and habitat documentation of Pinus dalatensis Ferré in Vietnam has been part of a series of expeditions for the Dendrological Documentation Project and its publications, the Dendrological Atlas, Vols I-IV (in preparation) and Conifers Around the World (DEBRECZY and RÁCZ 2007). Most major species of temperate conifers in Vietnam have been documented, including Abies fansipanensis Q. P. Xiang, L. K. Fu, et Nan Li, Keteleeria roulletii (A. Chev.) Flous, Pinus kesiya Royle, P. krempfii Lecomte, and Xanthocyparis vietnamensis Farjon et Hiep. Pinus dalatensis was described by FERRÉ (I960) based on specimens collected at Trai Mat, 6 km from Dalat in Lam Dong province, Vietnam. The species has a fragmented distribution with isolated populations in mainly