At an international conference on Sept. 26, Academia Sinica academician Chou Chang-hung said that with the onset of global warming, wild plant species at average to high altitudes have been showing a tendency to migrate to higher altitudes, adding that if these species continue to migrate they will eventually reach a point where there is nowhere to grow. Chou says that six plant species indigenous to Taiwan, including Yushan’s Hypericum nagasawai, will soon face extinction, and says that the preservation of genetic resources brooks no delay.
The Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute (TESRI) under the Council of Agriculture held the International Conference on the Collection and Preservation of Plant Genetic Resources on Sept. 26, with Peter H. Raven, a former science consultant for the Clinton administration and longtime director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, around a dozen other international experts from South Africa, England, Germany and China, as well as Academia Sinica’s Chou, Lee Chia-wei, a professor in National Ching Hua University’s Department of Life Sciences, and Chiu Chi-jung and Chung Kuo-fang, both professors in National Taiwan University’s School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, presenting papers at the conference.
Chou says research shows that from 1906 to 2006 plant life at average to high altitudes in the Hehuanshan area gradually migrated to higher altitudes due to global warming, averaging 3.6m per year. If this migration trend is not slowed down, there will eventually be no more land available for the plants to grow, meaning that at least six of Taiwan’s native plant species — Anaphalis morrisonicola, Artemisia morrisonensis, Swertia randaiensis, Hypericum nagasawai, Angelica morrisonicola, and Cirsium arisanensis — potentially face extinction.
Photo courtesy of the Endemic Species Research Institute
照片由特有生物研究保育中心提供
TESRI director Tang Hsiao-yu says that they are currently in the process of planning facilities for the preservation of plant species in high-altitude mountain areas. Still at the preliminary phase of planning, they have decided to create a preservation area at Hehuanshan and will be working to collect and preserve 500 or so of the plant genetic resources currently growing at high altitudes there. With enough manpower and funding, the institute hopes to expand its collection and preservation endeavors to Southeast Asia in the future, potentially benefiting their work by holding exchanges with international experts and learning from the experiences of others, Tang says.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
全球氣候暖化,中高海拔野生植物出現往高海拔地區遷移生長的趨勢,中研院院士周昌弘九月二十六日在一場國際研討會中提出警訊,強調若高山植物持續往高處遷移,未來將無處可去,而台灣特有種的玉山金絲桃等六種植物恐將絕滅,種原蒐藏保育已刻不容緩。
Photo courtesy of the Endemic Species Research Institute
照片由特有生物研究保育中心提供
農委會特有生物研究保育中心二十六日舉辦植物種原蒐集與保育國際研討會,包括曾任美國前總統柯林頓科學顧問的密蘇里植物園園長彼得‧雷文與來自南非、英國、德國與中國等十二名國際專家學者與中研院院士周昌弘、清大生命科學系教授李家維與台大森林資源系教授邱圻榮、鍾國芳均與會發表報告。
周昌弘指出,從一九○六至二○○六年之間在氣候暖化影響下,研究紀錄顯示在合歡山區的中高海拔野生植物,每年以三點六公尺速率往高海拔遷移生長,若此趨勢未見減緩,最後將無處可去,其中至少有玉山抱莖籟簫、細葉山艾、巒大當藥、玉山金絲桃、玉山當歸與阿里山薊等六種植物極可能面臨絕滅。
特生中心主任湯曉虞表示,目前正積極籌設高山植物種原保存設施,初步選定合歡山地區設立保存場地,就現有五百多種高山植物種原進行蒐藏保存,未來若人力、財力允許更將擴展蒐藏範圍至東南亞地區,藉著國外學者專家的經驗交流,有助推動種原保存工作。
(自由時報記者陳信仁)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110