[Taxacom] XTBG Horticulture

[sven landrein]

Dear Colleagues,

 

Please find below an announcement for positions within the Horticulture department in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Yunnan ( <http://xtbg.cas.cn/> http://xtbg.cas.cn/). The new team aims to bring expertise in taxonomy, ex-situ conservation, landscaping, interpretation as well as natural products of eight major collections within the garden:

 

The positions are located in China, Yunnan, Xishuangbanna, Mengla, 666 303 Menglun and include accommodation. The garden is located near the border of Laos, Burma, Viet-Nam and Thailand and ideally located for study in SE Asian biodiversity. Research facilities include a Herbarium, Seed bank, Nursery and in vitro propagation, Molecular, Ecology, Physiology and Chemistry laboratories. 

 

1.    1 Flower garden/ systematic garden (families such as Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Acanthaceae, Rubiaceae, Nymphaeaceae): PI should have an associate professor title, 2-4 years of experience in horticulture taxonomy, genetics or/and ornamental horticulture, plant breeding.

2.    2 Palm collection/ understory plants: PI should have an associate professor title, 2-4 years of experience in understory palm taxonomy, genetics or/and tropical forest understory ecology, taxonomy.

3.    3 Bamboo collection/ Poaceae: PI should have an associate professor title, 2-4 years of experience in Bamboo/ Poaceae taxonomy, conservation or/and uses as well as developing DNA markers, genetics.

4.    4 Orchids/ Araceae/ Zingiberaceae/ Endangered trees collections: PI should have an associate professor title, 2-4 years of experience in conservation, micropropagation or/and recalcitrant seed storage, genetic diversity study and reintroduction.

 

As well as assisting each PI, assistants will be able to develop skills and research in the following subjects:

 

5.    5 Medicinal plant garden/ Edible and fruit garden: Assistant should have a PhD degree and experience in natural products or/and basic molecular biology.

6.    6 Fig garden/ plant-animal interactions: Assistant should have a PhD degree and experience in fig taxonomy, genetics or/and plant-animal interaction studies. 

7.    7 Dipterocarpaceae collection: Assistant should have a PhD degree and experience in ecological landscape design and forest ecology.

8.    8 Green stone forest and Dai original forest: Assistant should have a PhD degree and experience in surveys, collecting and digital information systems or citizen sciences.

 

百花园Flower Garden

The Flower Garden covers an area of 25 ha and has a collection of 600 species and varieties of tropical flowers. It is an integrative garden incorporating landscaping, horticultural display, public education, species conservation and recreation as well. Collections are grouped in distinct areas with Hibiscus rosa sinensis cultivars, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Bougainvillea cultivars, Mussuaenda, Acanthaceae and interspersed with flowering trees and ponds with Nymphaea, Nelumbo and other aquatic perennials.

棕榈园Palm collection

Occupying an area of 9.3 ha, Palm Collection is home to 460 palm species from tropical regions. It is one of the richest palm gardens in the world. It has extensive growth of Cocos nucifera as well as Roystenea along the lake, many Caryota palms and a small area with understory palm such as Johannesteijsmannia. 

百竹园Bamboo Garden

Entering from the Suspension Bridge of XTBG, you can see a large bamboo collection (7 ha). The collection contains more than 200 bamboo species from Southern Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Provinces and tropical regions of Southeast Asia.It is said to be one of the largest display bamboo gardens in China, functioning for scientific research, science popularization, and eco-tourism.

榕树园Fig collection

Ficus is a genus of about 1,000 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae, collectively known as fig trees or figs. They distribute throughout the tropics, with a few species extending into semi-warm temperate zone. Ficus is one of the “keystone” plant species in the tropical rainforests. There are around 100 species of Ficus in China, of which 67 species are found in Yunnan province and 48 species in Xishuangbanna. Many Ficus species exhibit spectacular phenomena, such as plank buttress, cauliflory, aerial garden, strangler figs, etc, which reflects characteristics of tropical rainforests. Built in 1993, Fig Garden occupies an area of 1.5ha and home to 160 fig species with several displays of Ficus benghalensis.

龙血树园Dracaena collection 

Some dracaena species, such as Dracaena cambodiana, D. cochinchinensis, and D. ensifolia are the resource plants for extracting the famous traditional Chinese medicine--Dragon’s Blood. Prof. Cai Xitao, founder of XTBG, started to study dracaena plants in 1972. The Dracaena Garden occupies an area of 1 ha and has a collection of tens of species, almost all Chinese native species are included.

龙脑香园Dipterocarp collection

Plants of Dipterocarpaceae are mainly distributed in tropical Asia, with 15 genera and approximately 580 species, regarded as an important symbol of tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. 13 species in 5 genera in China are all listed as rare and endangered plants under national protection. Covering an area of 7 ha, the Dipterocarp Collection is now home to 34 species in 7 genera of Diterocarp plants.

南药园 South China Medicinal Plant Garden   

With an area of 2 ha, the Medicinal Plant Garden is home to over 400 medicinal plants from tropical and south subtropical regions. It is divided into many sections featured with tropical medicine, ethnic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and natural medicine respectively. Some ethnic medicinal plants reflecting the interactions between local ethnic minorities like Dai, Hani, Jinuo and the tropical rainforests are on display.

绿石林保护区 Green Stone Forest and 滇南土著植物迁地保护区Original Dai forest Tropical rain forest

Lying due east of the gourd-shaped Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), the Green Stone Forest is home to a lush limestone seasonal rainforest. Encompassing a great diversity of habitat and topography, the forest is home to more than 1,000 vascular plant species and a wide array wildlife. It covers an area of 225 ha and its forest coverage is above 90 %. On the slopes of the forest, plants and unique stones complement one another, forming a picturesque scenery described as “forest growing on the stone.” As the original habitat of hornbills, monkeys, gibbons and orchids, the Green Stone Forest now serves as an important site for reintroduction of these rare animal and plant species

 

Please send a CV and letter of motivation to  <mailto:sven at xtbg.ac.cn> sven at xtbg.ac.cn if you have an interest.