AsianFagaceae.com

Welcome to AsianFagaceae.com:

The complete online web-resource for information on the evolutionary history, diversity, identification and conservation of over 700 Species of Asian trees!

On this website you will find information on all species of Fagaceae found in Asia, arranged according to genus, geographic region and research topics. The site also provides (links to) data on genomic information, regional species checklists, literature, ongoing fieldwork and botanical collections, as well as floristic works in progress and news updates on current projects. This site is under continuous development. In addition to over 700 species pages on Asian taxa, a further 400+ pages are available treating all the non-Asian taxa, covering Fagaceae occurring in the Americas, Europe and the Mediterranean region (click here). Finally, a list of common Quercus hybrids will be made available as well once completed. Check back regularly for project news, new images/data and page updates below!

How to Cite the site:

This website is created to support ongoing research work on Asian Fagaceae, and to serve as a center for resource and information dissemination on this globally important plant family. As such it is an important reference of past work, and an actively updated repository of ongoing work aiming to promote our understanding and conservation of these species. Your citation of this website will help to ensure its continued availability and improvement. Please use the following citation in your work:

Strijk, J.S. (insert current year). ‘asianfagaceae.com – The complete database for information on the evolutionary history, diversity, identification and conservation of over 700 Species of Asian trees. Published on the internet; https://www.asianfagaceae.com/ Retrieved on (insert current date).’

For more information please consult the Contact page, or visit any of the links below. Thank you!

More information on my work can be found here (click on the logo to go the site):

Finding species, genera, descriptions, geographic data and conservation assessment information on this site:
-Use the “Genera“-submenu on the right-hand side of each page to navigate to the Asian species of Fagaceae. Then select from the species list to view the species page. Alternatively, you can enter the species name in the search box above and go there directly.
-If you are interested in the Fagaceae of a particular country or geographic region in Asia (or elsewhere), you can select one of the “menu options in the main header“.
-To access the most updated IUCN Red List conservation assessment information, click the “Red List logo at the top of each species page“. Starting in 2019, and with technical and financial support from BGCI, I have been working on completing the assessments for the entire family, and all incoming confirmed assessments are added to species pages on this webportal.
-Finally, if you are searching for Fagaceae species outside Asia, please click the “Fagaceae outside Asia“-menu option in the main header.

Follow @ACTGenomics on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/actgenomics.bsky.social, or visit the homepage of the Alliance for Conservation Tree Genomics (ACTG) for an overview of ongoing research projects, new publications and updates on the latest workshops at www.actg.science

Some components of the data on this webportal are/were supported with financial or technical support from (click on the logo to visit the site of the organization):

Conservation Gap Analysis of Select Native Asian Oaks [update]

This summer, a project several years in the making has finally reached its successful conclusion! The final report of the Conservation Gap Analysis of Select Native Asian Oaks has been released and is accompanied by the following statement (from Morton Arboretum – from the coordinating partners website):

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Southeast and East Asia are global biodiversity hotspots for oak (genus Quercus) species diversity, with more than 170 species within this region. Despite this remarkable diversity, little is known regarding population size, distribution, or threats for many species. There is an urgent need to coordinate and prioritize conservation actions for both wild populations and living collections in botanic gardens.

To assess the status and to prioritize conservation of oaks in this region, The Morton Arboretum’s Global Tree Conservation Program and its collaborators produced the Conservation Gap Analysis of Select Native Asian Oaks. The report focuses on 54 oaks native to Southeast and East Asia listed as threatened or Data Deficient by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite its status as an oak biodiversity hotspot, this type of analysis has never been performed for oaks in Southeast and East Asia.

The purpose of this conservation gap analysis is to help coordinate and prioritize conservation action to protect Southeast and East Asian oaks for both in situ populations (those found in native ecosystems) and ex situ populations (those found in managed collections, such as public gardens).

For each target species, researchers characterized native distribution, protected area coverage, and conservation value of ex situ collections, as well as past, present, and future threats to wild populations. In addition, this analysis includes in-depth species profiles for eight threatened species throughout the region that summarize distribution and threats, as well as ex situ and in situ conservation status and needs.

The results of the analysis highlight the urgent need to expand survey work and exploration, increase protected area coverage for threatened species, and increase representation of oak species in ex situ collections, especially within their native range.

The study area includes Viet Nam, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

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We are delighted to see the final report completed and thank al the partners and many contributors that have helped make this comprehensive study possible. We also like to acknowledge the many partners on the ground and participants that have joined in workshops in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, sharing with us the much needed data for the analyses compiled in this report. The full report can be downloaded HERE, and comes with eight Species Profiles for threatened Oak species available HERE.

Website Updating in progress

Ongoing work to prepare the upcoming IUCN Global Red List Report for Castanopsis and Lithocarpus (slated for 2026-2027) has thus far resulted in the completion and uploading of over 350 new conservation assessments (look for these at the top of each species page). Ongoing field surveys by Dr Joeri Sergej Strijk in tropical Asia (Laos & Vietnam, and Malaysia) and Gap Analyses are adding updated distribution ranges. Over the coming months, more species descriptions will be made available online, in tandem with the completion of Fagaceae floristic treatments for Asia (FCLV, Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, and Malesiana). At current, this website hosts over 5000 photographs and illustrations for Fagaceae species in Asia (see genus menu on the right hand side of the homepage), Europe and the Americas.

New species published

A spectacular new Stone Oak is described from Sumatra – Lithocarpus tapanuliensis Harapan, W.H.Tan, Nurainas & Strijk. Our latest publication showcases the new species’ features and highlights the unique cupule morphology, particularly the shape, placement and distinctness of the cupule protuberances. We also provide details on the ecological interactions (e.g. consumption and nesting) with threatened Tapanuli orangutans, providing further strength to the observation that Asian Fagaceae are an important food resource for many large faunal elements spread throughout temperate and (sub)tropical Asia, under regular conditions, but especially as supplements in periods of food scarcity.
You can read the whole article on PhytoKeys CLICK HERE or visit the new species page for Lithocarpus tapanuliensis by CLICKING HERE.

Conservation Gap Analyses of Asia’s Oak species

Over the next 3 years, The Morton Arboretum, in partnership with the Alliance for Conservation Tree Genomics, and Botanic Gardens Conservation International, will be conducting conservation gap analyses on the native oaks of Asia. This has previously been done for oaks native to the use (2016-2019, report here https://mortonarb.org/science/projects/conservation-gap-analysis-of-native-u-s-oaks/). For more information on the project, please visit the project page on the ACTG website CLICK HERE

International Conservation Symposium 2023 Taiwan

Late 2022, Dr Joeri Sergej Strijk was invited to attend the International Conservation Symposium 2023 organized by the Ecological Society of Taiwan and the National Forestry Department. The meeting, entitled ‘The Ecological Value and Plant Diversity of Southeastern Taiwan”, was organized in March 2023 in Taipei and featured Taiwanese and International experts from the International Oak Society, Global Conservation Consortium for Oak, and Botanic Gardens Conservation International. The meeting, stretching out over 11 days, involved joint vegetation surveys of highly diverse forest sites and discussions on species persistence, the critical threats facing plant diversity, and the obstacles to conservation efforts in southeastern Taiwan. The visit was closed with a full-day symposium and press conference in Taipei. You can read the whole article and trip report on the website of the International Oak Society (IOS) CLICK HERE. Species pages for all taxa found on Taiwan can be viewed by CLICKING HERE.

Fagaceae of Taiwan (Photo by Ai_Kuang Tung).

New species published

A new species from the Fagaceae family, Castanopsis corallocarpus Tan & Strijk, is described from Royal Belum State Park in Peninsular Malaysia. In our latest publication, we provide technical illustrations, colour images and a description of its conservation status and the collecting locality, in addition to a comparative analysis with other species in the region. The solitary nut of C. corallocarpus has a morphologically unique cupule, lined with rows of thick coral-like spines not seen in other Castanopsis species. You can read the whole article on PhytoKeys CLICK HERE or visit the new species page for Castanopsis corallocarpus by CLICKING HERE.

State of the World’s Trees Report

Through the Global Tree Assessment, intensive research has been undertaken over the past five years to compile extinction risk information on the 58,497 tree species worldwide. We now know that 30% of tree species are threatened with extinction, and at least 142 tree species are recorded as extinct. The main threats to tree species are forest clearance and other forms of habitat loss, direct exploitation for timber and other products and the spread of invasive pests and diseases. Climate change is also having a clearly measurable impact.The detailed tree species information used to compile this report is now available on the GlobalTree Portal, a new major tool to support forestry, biodiversity conservation and climate change policy and action for tree species. The Global Tree Assessment has been made possible over the past five years by a global network of over 60 institutional partners and over 500 experts. Find the full list of contributors in the report.

Researchers estimate 30% of tree species are threatened with extinction, and at least 142 tree species are recorded as extinct.

State of the World’s Trees Report available here

New Red List Report published

With the Red List of Oaks 2020 now released and providing unprecedented details on the distribution of oak trees, population trends, and the dangers that they face, all IUCN assessments have now been linked to the Quercus species on this website. All online assessments on the IUCN Red List can be found and accessed through the species pages by clicking on the assessment icon at the top of each page. Among the 430 oak species found worldwide, 32 species are threatened in Mexico, 36 in China, 20 in Vietnam, and 16 species in the United States. The proportion of endangered oak trees is higher than the global threat levels for mammals or birds. Read more on the Red List of Oaks 2020 and what it will mean for our efforts to protect endangered species.

Researchers estimate nearly one-third of all oaks are threatened with extinction.

Red List of Oaks 2020 available here