Hainan sees steady gibbon population growth, discovers eight new macrofungi species

South China's tropical island province of Hainan has seen steady growth in the population of Hainan gibbons, a rare animal species under the first class state protection in China, and discovered eight new macrofungi species over the past three years since the start of a program to build part of the province into a tropical rain forest national park in January 2019.

Lying in the southernmost part of China, Hainan is home to an estimated 4,200 species of plants, more than 300 species of birds, 104 different kinds of reptiles, almost 100 species of mammals and 37 different kinds of amphibians, many of which are unique to China and some are found only on Hainan. In August 2020, a newborn Hainan gibbon named Ping Ping was born in Hainan. In early 2021, two more respectively named "Yuan Hai" and "Yuan Nan" were born. In January this year, Hainan saw another newborn gibbon, which means that the gibbons population in Hainan has kept enlarging for three consecutive years since the start of construction of the Hainan Tropical Rain Forest National Park. After more than three months of monitoring and observation, the management authorities of the Hainan Tropical Rain Forest National Park found out that the Hainan gibbon baby born in January this year is in good condition. So far, the number of the world's rarest primate has reached 36 in five groups. "We now staffed with 18 full-time surveillance officers, with every three to four of them forming a squad designated to monitor the population size, status, habits and behaviors of one particular group [of the Hainan gibbon population]," said Zhou Zhaoli, deputy leader of the Hainan Gibbon Monitoring Team of Bawangling Sub-Bureau of the Hainan Tropical Rain Forest National Park.

Covering an area of 4,269 square kilometers, the Hainan Tropical Rain Forest National Park is located in the central part of Hainan, spans nine cities and counties in central Hainan Island, and contains more than 95 percent of original forest and more than 55 percent of the natural forests on Hainan Island. It preserves the most complete and diverse continental island tropical rain forest in China, and it is an important part of the world's tropical rain forests. Hainan is the only place where its native gibbons can be found in the world. The biodiversity index is equivalent to that of the Amazon tropical rain forest, and it is a global biodiversity hotspot.

In the process of construction of the park, a fauna and flora research institute has been established in the province as a platform for international cooperation in scientific research and protection of wild species, bringing together multiple parties to conduct international exchange and cooperation in helping re-population of the endangered species of gibbons.

Apart from the population growth of Hainan gibbons, researchers with the park also discovered eight new macrofungi species in the park in March.

"The five samples of Hypoxylon and three samples of Xylaria discovered this time were mostly found on dead tree branches or decayed woods. Those species are capable of decomposing lignin and cellulose, and accelerating substance metabolism, which plays an important role in the circulation of the entire ecosystem," said Ma Haixia, doctor of the Tropical Biotechnology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences.

In recent years, researchers have traveled deep into the Hainan Tropical Rain Forest National Park several times, to investigate the resources of macrofungi species in various rain forest reserves, collected more than 3,000 specimens and taken over 2,000 photos of the wild life habitats in the park.