Cypress endangered

EXPERTS proposed last week that the Doumen Chinese Swamp Cypress Forest, with potentially huge value for research and development, be made the country’s first Glyptostrobus Pensilis Nature Reserve.
Commonly known as Chinese swamp cypress, the tree is the sole living species of the genus Glyptostrobus. The Doumen forest, overlapping Baijiao and Lianzhou towns and covering 0.75sqkm, is regarded as the largest of its kind in China. The forest at Zhuzhoutou in Liuxiang Village, Baijiao Town, contains the world’s largest single cluster of the species.
However, the forest is on verge of extinction due to lack of management. Soil erosion, illegal logging for its valuable scented decay-resistant wood, and water pollution are threatening it.