Third (Final) Circular
The 2nd International Metasequoia Symposium
-- Metasequoia and Associated Plants: Evolution, Physiology, Horticulture, and Conservation
Hosted by
Bryant University, Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S.A
and
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A
August 6-10, 2006
Post-Conference Field Trip to Long Island, New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and Maryland (August 11-13)

GENERAL INFORMATION
Welcome to the 3rd (and the last) Circular. You will find updated programs, speaker schedules, and information regarding drive directions, accommodations, and transportation. The pre-conference field trip to Maine (August 4-6) is cancelled due to the low numbers of attendees. Participants who paid for the Maine trip will receive a full refund. All oral presentations will be scheduled for 30 minutes, including 5 minutes for questions and answers. PowerPoint facility, slide projector, and overhead projector will be available. PowerPoint files should be loaded to the computer prior to the presentation. Poster exhibit will be displayed in Monday (August 7) afternoon at the second floor of Bryant University's Unistructure, a building which is adjacent to Bello Grand Hall. A Bryant student volunteer will assist poster presenters to set up their posters. Poster supplies (supporting board, push-pins, double-sided tapes…) will be available.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
On site registration ($200 for professionals; $150 for students) will be held at the welcoming dinner Sunday night. Shuttle buses will run from the Comfort Suites to and from the dinner from five thirty until six that evening. The registration fee will cover a welcome package (includes abstract and program and local information), all lunches and 4 dinners (August 6, 7, and 8 at Bryant University and August 10 at Yale university) and 1 breakfast at (August 10 at Yale University, while continental breakfasts will be offered at your hotel for other days), and transportation between Bryant University and Boston and from Bryant University to Yale University at New Haven (via Newport). Registered participants will be issued a name ID, which identifies the you for the access to symposium activities in both Bryant University and Yale University as well as the wellness center and swimming pool (open 12:00-5:30 PM, Mon-Fri) at Bryant University.

PROGRAMS

August 6 (Sunday)
Arrival and Registration, BryantUniversity
Complimentary transportation will be provided to run two to three times per day from T.F.GreenAirport and Providence Train Station to Comfort Suites near BryantUniversity. Please inform Greg Heslin (gheslin@bryant.edu) about your arrival schedule.
6:00PM: Welcome dinner at Parentes Restaurant, located between the Comfort Suites and Bryant University, Smithfield, RI. . Transportation will be arranged to and from the hotel starting at five thirty.

August 7 (Monday)
Bryant University
(Chairman: Dr. Hong Yang)

Morning Program: Opening Ceremony and Session I - Living Plants, Stepan Grand Hall

9:00AM: Welcoming Remarks: Honorable Ronald K. Machtley, President, Bryant University and Dr. David S. Lux, Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, Bryant University

9:30AM: Keynote Address: Dr. Michael Donoghue (Member of National Academy of Sciences, G. Evelyn Hutchinson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Director of Peabody Museum of National History, Yale University): Metasequoia as a case study for bioconservation

10:00AM: Dr. Peter Del Tredici (Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University): "Building botanical bridges with China: The role of the Arnold Arboretum from 1915 through 1948"

10:30AM: Dr. Jinshuang Ma (Brooklyn Botanic Garden): The worldwide survey on cultivated Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Taxodiaceae / Cupressaceae) in the past 60 years (1947 to 2006)

11:00AM: Group photo in front of the Stepan Grand Hall and a Metasequoia glyptostroboides tree-planting ceremony on campus of Bryant University

12:00PM: Lunch at Heritage Dinning Room
Poster Set-up at the second floor of the Unistructure

Afternoon Program: Session I - Living Plants (continued), Bello Grand Hall (oral presentations) and the second floor of Unistructure (poster presentations)

1:30PM: Dr. Gaytha Langlois (Bryant University): The application of GIS to explore the evolution of Metasequoia, Uuilizing paleogeological, genetic and morphological data

2:00PM: Mr. Matthew F. Belsky (Skidmore College): GIS analysis of living Metasequoia
2:30PM: Mr. Gary Perez (Bryant University): Climatic signals registered as isotopic values in Metasequoia leaf tissues: A statistical analysis

3:00PM: Dr. M. A. Equiza (Miami University of Ohio): Ecophysiological responses of Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Taxodium distichum and Larix laricina to continuous light

3:30PM: Dr. Richard Jagels (University of Maine): "Why did Metasequoia disappear from North America?"

4:00PM: Coffee/Tea Break (Unistructure)

4:00-5:30PM: Poster display at the Unistructure (poster presenters please stand by at your posters to answer questions)

6:00 PM: Dinner at Heritage Dinning Room

August 8 (Tuesday)
Mid-conference field trip to Boston: Visit Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Mount Auburn Cemetery
(Leader: Dr. Peter Del Tredici, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University)

9:00AM: Bus picks up at Comfort Suites (box lunch provided)

10:00AM: Arrive at Arnold Arboretum, to view archival materials in the library, followed by a tour of Metasequoia trees of the arboretum.

12:00AM: Lunch under the oldest Metasequoia tree of the arboretum germinated from the original 1947 seeds.

12:30PM: Leave Arnold Arboretum for Mount Auburn

1:00PM: Arrive in Mount Auburn. Walking tour of Mount Auburn guided by Dave Barnett (Staff member at Mount Auburn), including Metasequoia trees near Willow Pond and Auburn Lake

3:00PM: Depart for downtown Boston

3:30PM: Visit Boston Common and other historical places

5:00PM: Depart for Bryant University

6:30PM: Dinner at Heritage Dinning Room

August 9 (Wednesday)
Travel to Yale University, New Haven via Newport: Visit the Metasequoia tree at West Warwick, RI (Leaders: Dr. Judy Barrett Litoff and Dr. Gaytha Langlois, Bryant University)
9:00AM: Depart from Comfort Suites (box lunch provided) (participants should check out from the hotel prior to departure)
10:00AM: Arrive in Newport. Visit Cliff walk, Ocean drive, and Marble House (optional)

12:00AM: Depart from Newport

1:00PM: Lunch at Ms. Mignon Kolb's House at West Warwick, under her father's Metasequoia tree.

2:00PM: Depart for Yale University, New Haven, CT

4:00PM: Arrival and check in hotels. Rooms at the Lawn Club http://www.nhlawnclub.com/ (all single rooms, $109/person, all non-smoking), downtown Marriott Courtyard http://www.courtyardmarriottyale.com/ (single room or double room, $109/person, all non-smoking), and New Haven Hotel, http://www.newhavenhotel.com/(single or double rooms, $105/person, smoking or non-smoking) will be blocked for symposium participants. Please email your preference to Greg Heslin (gheslin@bryant.edu) by July 31. After the date, we will assign a hotel for you.
Dinner on your own (New Haven has a variety of selection for restaurants. Some recommendations of restaurants nearby can be found in the welcome package, prepared for you at your hotel)
The Yale Department & Geology and Geophysics van will be used as a shuttle between hotels and conference sites.

August 10 (Thursday)
Session II and Closing Ceremony, Yale University
(Chairman: Dr. Leo Hickey)

8:00AM: Breakfast at the Common Room of Luce Hall (Shuttle picks up at hotels)

Morning Program: Session II - Fossil Plants, Luce Hall, Yale University
9:00AM: Welcoming Remark (by Yale University administration)

9:10AM: Dr. Xulong Lai (China University of Geosciences): Present status of the in situ conversation of the native Metasequoia glyptostroboides population

9:40AM: Dr. Qin Leng (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology): Distribution of wild Metasequoia glyptostroboides trees in South-Central China

10:10-10:30AM: Coffee/Tea Break

10:30AM: Dr. Neal S. Gupta (Yale University): Natural decay of Metasequoia glyptostroboides: Molecular implications for the fossil record

11:00AM: Dr. Hong Yang (Bryant University): Molecular isotope signals from Metasequoia: Implications for paleoclimate

11:30AM: Dr. Ben LePage (URS Corporation): The evolution and biogeographic history of Glyptostrobus Endlicher

12:30PM: Lunch at the Lawn Club (Across the street from the Peabody Museum Metasequoia tree)

12:15-4:15 PM: Exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Peabody Museum of National History, Yale University with special exhibit on Metasequoia (guided by museum staff and curators) with a visit to the fossil tree garden (outside of the Kline Geology Laboratory) and the Marsh Garden. The tour also includes: The botany section, the paleobotany section, the geology library (the oldest illustrated Metasequoia fossil), and the isotope laboratory.

4:15PM: Shuttle sends participants to hotels/Peabody Museum (the museum gift store opens until 5:00PM)

5:15PM: Shuttle picks up at hotels for Peabody Museum

5:30PM: Reception with bar: Grand Hall of Dinosaurs, Peabody Museum of Natural History Yale University (Other sections of the museum will be open for visit)

6:00PM: Dinner at the Grand Hall of Dinosaurs, Peabody Museum

7:30PM: Closing Ceremony Speaker: Dr. Leo Hickey (Yale University): An Arctic homeland for Metasequoia? Peabody Museum Auditorium (3rd floor)

8:30PM: Shuttle sends participants back to hotels

August 11 (Friday) –13 (Sunday)
Post-conference field trip to New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washing DC
(Leaders: Dr. Jingshuang Ma, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Dr. Ben LePage, URS Corporation, and Dr. Chris Williams, Franklin and Marshall College)
(details see the appendix)

PUBLICATION

Original articles presented at the symposium will be published in a book of Special Publication of the Peabody Museum of National History, Yale University. All manuscripts will be peer reviewed. To achieve our goal of publishing the book by the end of the year, manuscripts should be submitted shortly after the conference, no later than September 30, 2006 to Dr. Hong Yang (hyang@bryant.edu). Call for Papers and author instruction can be found from the conference website: http://web.bryant.edu/~china/metasequoia.htm (under Publication). Perspective authors are also encouraged to contact Dr. Hong Yang for further information.

Call for Papers

YPM Guide

PARKING AND SHUTTLE

Both Bryant University and Yale University will set aside parking spaces for symposium participants who drive their own vehicles to the conference. Please email Mr. Gregory S. Heslin (gheslin@bryant.edu) to provide your vehicle's plate number. Hotel in New Haven may charge guest extra for parking at hotel properties. Complimentary shuttle service (a Bryant University van) will be provided between the Comfort Suites and Bryant University on Monday (August 7) and Tuesday (August 8) before and after symposium activities. Complimentary shuttle (a Yale Department of Geology and Geophysics van) service will be also available on Wednesday (August 9) afternoon and Thursday (August 10) to transport participants between hotels and Yale University. On August 11 morning, the van will send participants to the New Haven Train Station.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

1) Bryant University

Bryant University is located on Route 7, just off Route 295. Smithfield is approximately 15 minutes from Providence, RI, and one hour from Boston, MA.

FROM POINTS SOUTH OF PROVIDENCE:
(Warwick, Newport, Connecticut, New York, etc.)
Take Route 95 north to Route 295 north to Route 7 north (exit 8B). The University is two miles north on the left.

FROM POINTS NORTH OF PROVIDENCE:
(Attleboro, Boston, New Hampshire, etc.)
Take Route 95 south to Route 295 south to Route 7 north (exit 8B). The University is two miles north on the left.

2) Yale University
(Luce Hall: 34 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut)
Interstate 95
From the north: Connect to I-91 North in New Haven; take Exit 3 (Trumbull Street) and follow directions below for I-91.
From the south: Connect to I-91 North in New Haven (left exit); take Exit 3 (Trumbull Street) and follow directions below for I-91.
From north or south on Interstate 91 (I-91), take Exit 3 (Trumbull St.) Stay in the middle lane and continue straight onto Trumbull Street, through the third traffic light (Temple Street) --- the next right is Hillhouse Avenue. Luce Hall is the third building on the left, set back from the street. Metered parking throughout area.

Courtyard Marriott- Whalley Ave/Dwight St (A)
Luce Hall- Prospect St/Trumbull St (B)
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History- Whitney Ave/Sachem St (C)
New Haven Lawn Club- Pearl St (D)
New Haven Hotel- George St (E)

FURTHER CONTACT

Mr. Gregory S. Heslin

Assistant Director
U.S.-ChinaInstitute
BryantUniversity
Smithfield, RI02917USA

Tel: 401 232 6883
Fax: 401 232 6416
Email: gheslin@bryant.edu

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Michael Day, University of Maine
Peter Del Tredici, Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University
Michael Donoghue, Yale University
Maria Equiza, Miami University of Ohio
Leo Hickey, Yale University
Richard Jagels, University of Maine
Xulong Lai, China University of Geosciences
Gaytha Langlois, Bryant University
Qin Leng, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology
Ben A. LePage, URS Corporation
Judy Barrett Litoff, Bryant University
Jingshuang Ma, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Chris Williams, Franklin and Marshall College
Hong Yang, Bryant University

Day 1 (August 11)
New Haven - Long Island - New York City

Trip leader: Jinshuang Ma (Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Phone 718-623-7357, email: jinshuangma@bbg.org)

Stop One: Bailey Arboretum (Bayville Road and Feeks Lane, Lattingtown, NY 11542, 40.54 N, 73.36 W)
Objectives:
The Bailey Arboretum is a 42-acre estate formerly owned by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bailey, known to them as Munnysunk. The property includes a mid-1800's house and a magnificent collection of plants and trees, many exceedingly rare, especially Metasequoia (one of the best in the world). Of the 600 different kinds of trees, many species came from other parts of the United States and from distant countries around the world -- wherever the temperate climate conditions resembled those of the northeastern United States, and Long Island in particular.
Stop Two: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, New York (40°66.81 N, 73°96.20 W; www.bbg.org).

Objectives:

Visit Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), one of the finest botanic gardens in the United States, where the first group of Metasequoia from the 1947 seeds and other conifers were grown. BBG, with 52 splendid acres featuring more than 12,000 different kinds of plants from around the world is in downtown Brooklyn, one of the five boroughs of New York City. Visit with Dr. Jinshuang Ma and see his publications and collections on Metasequoia, including original reprint of H. H. Hu & W. C. Cheng's publication in 1948 with Dr. H. H. Hu's signature; the photo of the first specimen collected by Chan Wang in 1943; the photo of Mr. Chintsan Hwa in 2002, collector of the first group of Metasequoia seeds in the autumn of 1947; and the photo of Metasequoia fossils by Dr. S. Miki from Osaka Metropolitan Museum of Japan.

Tentative schedule and program:
August 11 (Friday)

8:30AM: Depart from Yale University by personal cars
10:30AM: Arrive in Bailey Arboretum, and visit the garden for 30 minutes
11:00 AM: Depart from Bailey Arboretum
12:00 Noon: Arrive at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Lunch
1:00 PM: Visit the garden's first group of Metasequoias planted with seeds from 1947 and Dr. Jinshuang Ma's collections on research history of Metasequoia.
3:00 PM: Depart from Brooklyn Botanic Garden
4:30 PM: Arrive hotel near Rutgers University in New Jersey for lodging overnight

Day 2 (August 12)
New Jersey and Pennsylvania

Trip Leaders: Ben LePage (Ben_LePage@URSCorp.com) & Chris Williams (Chris.Williams@fandm.edu)

Stop Three: Rutgers University, Metasequoia Plantation (40°27.71'N, 74°25.55'W)

Objectives

At this stop we will visit one of the most genetically diverse plantations of Metasequoia in the United States. Seeds from 52 parent trees in Hubei, Hunan, and Sichuan provinces were collected in 1990 and sent to Rutgers University for cultivation. In September 1992, a plantation composed of 352 seedlings was established at Rutgers University. This plantation has been used extensively for Metasequoia research and is the source of several horticultural cultivars now in commercial production.

Stop Four: Morris Arboretum of The University of Pennsylvania (40°5.50'N, 75°13.66'W)

Objectives

The Arboretum's Metasequoia stand, one of the first such groves in the country, was planted in the early 1950s from original Chinese seeds. Dr. Hui-Lin Li (a former director of the arboretum) planted the Metasequoia grove in the Morris Arboretum from seeds collected in Hubei province, China. In addition to Metasequoia, the arboretum is home to 13,000 labeled plants of over 2,500 types. These plants include representatives of the temperate floras of North America, Asia, and Europe and include plants collected in China by E.H. Wilson at the turn of the century. Participants will take a guided tour of the arboretum and the Metasequoia grove with possible to Dr. Li's residence where large Metasequoia trees have been planted.

Tentative schedule and program:

August 12 (Saturday)

8:00AM: Leave hotel and travel to the Rutgers Plantation
9:30AM: Depart plantation for the Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia, PA
11:00AM: Arrive at the Morris Arboretum - Tour the arboretum, lunch at arboretum
3:00PM: Depart the Arboretum for Washington D.C.
6:30PM: Arrive in Washington, D.C. and check in hotel

Day 3 (August 13) Washington D.C. and Maryland

Trip Leaders: Chris Williams (Chris.Williams@fandm.edu) & Ben LePage (Ben_LePage@URSCorp.com)

Stop Five: National Arboretum (38°54.62'N, 76°57.97'W).

Objectives

The Arboretum is located in Washington, DC and is bordered on the east by the banks of the Anacostia River. The arboretum, encompassing 167 hectares, is home to a successful Metasequoia cultivar National as well as a stand of Metasequoia. The centerpiece of the National Arboretum Conifer Collection is the Gotelli Collection of Dwarf and Slow Growing Conifers. It is one of the finest collections of dwarf conifers in the world; the climate at the U.S. National Arboretum allows the growth of some conifers that hail from areas near the Arctic and conifers that are nearly subtropical and cannot withstand long periods of bitter cold. Also of interest is the National Grove of State Trees. Groves planted on 12 hectares of rolling terrain celebrate the diversity and importance of trees to all fifty states, and the District of Columbia. Each state is represented by a loosely arranged grove of several trees.

Stop Six: Taxodium Swamp at Battle Creek State Park, Maryland, (38°29.50'N, 76°35.85'W)

Objectives

Although there are no wild Metasequoia forests in the United States, we do have natural Taxodium disticum swamps. The 40-hectare Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary is one of the last remaining sites where the bald cypress tree occurs naturally in the state of Maryland and is one of the northernmost stands of bald cypress in the United States. A 520-meter boardwalk allows you to access the swamp, which is home to numerous large Taxodium including a 41 m tall, 1.7 m diameter tree.

Tentative schedule and program:
August 13 (Sunday)

8:00AM: Depart the hotel and travel to the National Arboretum
1:00PM: Depart the Arboretum to travel to Battle Creek State Park, MD
2:15PM: Arrive at Battle Creek, Park, guided tour
3:00PM: Grand Finale Cookout
7:00PM: Arrive in Washington DC, group dismissed

FIELD TRIP COSTS: $390 (including transportation, hotels for two nights, lunches and one BBQ dinner).

Logistical Planning Form

Name:

Dietary Requirements:

Seek Room Share: Y N

Smoker: Y N

Time of and Location of Arrival on 5 August:

Yale

Preferred Hotel at Yale Lawn Club Marriott Courtyard New Haven Hotel

Departure Time For Train Station on 11 August (excluding post-field trip participants):

Please email or fax back this form to Greg Heslin at (401) 232-6416 before July 31. Thank you.

Information regarding the conference will be updated at web.bryant.edu/~china.

Second circular

First circular

PROGRAMS

Mr. Gregory S. Heslin

Assistant Director U.S.-ChinaInstitute BryantUniversity Smithfield, RI02917USA

SPONSORS

Day 1 (August 11) New Haven - Long Island - New York City

Assistant Director
U.S.-ChinaInstitute
BryantUniversity
Smithfield, RI02917USA

Day 1 (August 11)
New Haven - Long Island - New York City