北美兰花保护中心 North American Orchid Conservation Center – 北美兰花保护网络

机构概况与设立背景

北美兰花保护中心（North American Orchid Conservation Center，缩写 NAOCC）是史密森尼学会和美国植物园于 2012 年前后共同发起的合作项目，总部设在马里兰州 Edgewater 的史密森尼环境研究中心（SERC）内，由 SERC 植物与分子生态学实验室具体承办。中心的主要任务是确保美国和加拿大境内所有本地兰花物种的长期生存。

种子库与菌根真菌库

NAOCC 把工作重点放在两类基础资源的收集与维护上：一是北美本土兰花种子的低温储藏，二是与兰花共生的兰花菌根真菌（mycorrhizal fungi）菌株保存。菌根真菌是兰花种子在野外萌发的必要条件，没有匹配的菌株，绝大多数兰花种子无法启动萌发过程，因此菌株库的完整程度直接关系到后续的繁育与回归工作能否展开。

合作网络与协作机制

NAOCC 不是一个孤立的实验室项目，而是一个由 60 余家植物园、研究机构、保护组织和公民科学志愿者组成的协作网络。创始合作单位包括国家动物园（National Zoological Park）、国家自然历史博物馆（National Museum of Natural History）和史密森尼园艺部（Smithsonian Gardens），后续又有美国植物园（U.S. Botanic Garden）及各地州立植物园陆续加入，分担种子采集、菌株分离、栖息地调查等具体任务。

科普教育与 Orchid-gami 项目

教育与公众参与是 NAOCC 工作内容中很重的一块。中心与美国植物园合作开发的 Orchid-gami（兰花加米）项目，把北美本土兰花做成可下载打印的三维纸模型，每款模型附有原产地、栖息环境和保护现状说明，用于教师、家长和孩子在课堂或家庭场景中接触本土兰花知识。这一项目已经做成 20 款一盒的”Origami Orchids”套盒，在多家植物园和博物馆礼品店发售。

实地保育与海外延伸项目

NAOCC 的活动范围以北美本土为主，但也有跨境合作。中心与美国林业局太平洋岛屿林业研究所合作，把兰花保护项目延展到西太平洋岛国帕劳（Palau），针对当地特有的帕劳风信子兰等物种开展栖息地评估和人工繁育工作。此外，欧洲的兰花保护团队也借鉴了 NAOCC 的协作模式，先后建立了欧洲兰花保护中心（European Orchid Conservation Center）和希腊/土耳其本土兰花互动保护平台。

About and Background

The North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC) is a joint initiative of the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Botanic Garden, headquartered within the Plant and Molecular Ecology Lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland. Its core mission is the long-term survival of every native orchid species found in the United States and Canada.

Seed Bank and Mycorrhizal Fungi Collection

Two working collections underpin the program. The first is a long-term seed bank for North American native orchids held under low-temperature storage. The second is a living collection of orchid mycorrhizal fungi, the symbiotic organisms that nearly all orchid species depend on for seed germination in the wild. Without matched fungal strains, restoration and reintroduction work on most native orchids cannot get past the seedling stage.

Collaborator Network

NAOCC operates as a distributed network of more than 60 botanic gardens, research labs, conservation groups and citizen-science volunteers. Founding partners include the National Zoological Park, the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Gardens, and the U.S. Botanic Garden. State and regional botanical gardens contribute seed collection, fungal isolation, and habitat surveys across the continent.

Education and the Orchid-gami Project

Public outreach is treated as a core line of work rather than an add-on. Together with the U.S. Botanic Garden, NAOCC developed Orchid-gami, a set of downloadable three-dimensional paper models of North American native orchids. Each model includes information on the orchid, its native habitat, and the conservation challenges it faces. A boxed set of 20 models, titled Origami Orchids, is sold at NAOCC, online retailers, and select botanical garden and museum gift shops.

Field Conservation and Cross-Border Work

Most fieldwork focuses on North American species, with an active program in the United States and Canada. In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, NAOCC has also established a conservation program for the western Pacific island nation of Palau, working on species such as the Palau hyacinth orchid. The NAOCC model has in turn influenced European efforts, including the European Orchid Conservation Center and the Interactive Conservation platform for orchids native to Greece and Turkey.

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