The National Arboretum, More Than Just Looking Beautiful
Recently, the National Botanical Garden at the foot of Fragrant Hills in Beijing has become a popular check-in place.
The National Botanical Garden, officially inaugurated on April 18, is divided into two gardens, the south and the north. On the basis of the existing conditions of the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (South Garden) and the Beijing Botanical Garden (North Garden), it is organically integrated through expansion and efficiency. , with a total planned area of nearly 600 hectares.
During the spring flower viewing period, the bulbous flowers such as tulips in the north garden of the National Botanical Garden are in full bloom and colorful, and more than 200 kinds of peonies are in bloom one after another. and subtropical plants, visitors can see the appearance of rare plants introduced and collected from all over the world, such as the red-skinned baobab tree and the beautiful staghorn fern...
As a comprehensive institution focusing on ex situ conservation of plant resources and plant scientific research, as well as four functions of scientific dissemination and horticultural display, what are the highlights of the National Botanical Garden?
Let's follow in the footsteps of reporters to find out.
More than 15,000 species of plants have been protected ex situ
There are 6 national flower germplasm resource banks
5 million representative plant specimens from five continents will be collected
what to see? Feel the different charms of botany and horticulture in the north and south gardens
"The South Garden and the North Garden both have a long history of development and have formed their own characteristics based on this. In the North and South Gardens, visitors can experience the different charms of botany and horticulture respectively." National Botanical Garden, Botany Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Ye Jianfei, a senior engineer at the institute, told reporters.
The plant collection in the South Garden is mainly of wild plants. It has the largest herbarium in Asia, an exhibition greenhouse, a Rosaceae plant area, a Fagaceae plant area, and a wild fruit tree area.
In botany, how are wild plants classified?
What kinds of plants are there in our country?
In South Park, these questions can be answered.
In the Herbarium of the South Garden, there are 2.87 million collections of mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms, seed specimens, and fossil plant specimens, showing the evolution and diversity of plants.
Entering the South Garden Exhibition Greenhouse, on the east side of the greenhouse, ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms, etc. are displayed in sequence according to the order of plant origin; the west side of the greenhouse simulates the transition from tropical desert to forest according to different water conditions. , wetlands, lakes in different environments, displaying succulents, trees, aquatic plants and other plants.
The unique exhibition presents visitors the time journey and space journey of plants.
Ye Jianfei said: "South Garden is the oldest comprehensive plant scientific research institution in my country. The collection and display of specimens, live plants and seeds are all based on the strong support of botanical research. Here, tourists can feel a strong sense of Scientific atmosphere." Visiting the South Garden in sequence, tourists are like reading a textbook on the history of plant evolution, and can feel the process of plant evolution, as well as the commonalities and differences of each type of plant.
What horticultural domestication and development have been done based on wild plants?
Which varieties were cultivated?
From the horticultural display in the North Garden, visitors can get an intuitive feeling.
Enter from the west gate of the North Garden and walk along the main road. On both sides of the road, you can visit the peony exhibition area, the peony garden, the begonia cotoneaster garden and other parks in turn.
Wang Kang, curator of the National Botanical Garden Science Museum, said that the main feature of the North Garden is the collection and display of horticultural plants.
There are the most outstanding rose gardens in the world, the Begonia Garden with the right to register international begonia varieties, as well as a wide variety of artificially cultivated roses, peach blossoms and other plants, which are very suitable for gardening enthusiasts to visit.
At present, more than 15,000 species of plants have been collected in the north and south gardens, and 6 national flower germplasm resource banks have been established, including peonies, water lilies, and wild ferns.
"The National Botanical Garden can be said to be a museum about plants. From plant specimens, live plants to seeds, these rich collections of species are its 'collection specimens'." Ye Jianfei said that in the National Botanical Garden, people can understand and recognize plants , get close to nature.
The National Botanical Garden is a "living prop" for science communication. It is not only a living textbook, an educational practice base, but also an ideal place for horticultural viewing and recreation.
Mafengwo statistics show that with the unveiling of the National Botanical Garden, the search interest for "National Botanical Garden" on the platform has risen by more than 66%.
Searches related to the National Botanical Garden route, National Botanical Garden tickets, National Botanical Garden strategy and other related searches have increased their popularity to varying degrees.
Why build? Promote ex situ conservation of endangered wild plants
Baihuashan grape, a rare and endangered plant unique to Beijing, was once the "loneliest" grape in the world.
Since there are only 2 wild individuals left, Baihuashan grape is only one step away from extinction.
"Through ex situ conservation, a batch of seedlings have been successfully bred in the South Garden of the National Botanical Garden, which provides a guarantee for the survival of this species." Lin Qinwen, a senior engineer at the National Botanical Garden and the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told reporters.
The endangered status of Baihuashan grapes is not an exception.
Due to factors such as habitat destruction, over-exploitation, climate change, invasion of alien species, and limited reproduction, some wild plants are on the verge of extinction and urgently need effective protection and rescue.
In October 2021, at the 15th COP Leaders Summit of the Convention on Biological Diversity, my country proposed to start the construction of national botanical garden systems in Beijing and Guangzhou based on the principle of combining in situ conservation and ex situ conservation. .
Zhou Zhihua, deputy director of the Animal and Plant Department of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, pointed out that the construction of a natural reserve system with national parks as the main body is the main form of in situ conservation, and the construction of a botanical garden system led by the National Botanical Garden is the main form of ex situ conservation. Each of them is indispensable and organically complementary to form a relatively complete biodiversity conservation system in my country.
my country has a huge geographical span, diverse landforms and climates, and is one of the countries with the richest plant diversity in the world, with about 37,000 species of higher plants.
Zhou Zhihua said that the national botanical garden system to be built in my country will comprehensively consider factors such as major national strategies, climatic zones and vegetation zoning characteristics, plant species richness, the development level of existing botanical gardens, local enthusiasm and construction capacity, etc. Regional National Botanical Gardens.
What is the difference between a national botanical garden and a regular botanical garden?
Why undertake the role of ex situ conservation?
According to Ye Jianfei, rich species collection and strong scientific research strength are the fundamental characteristics of the National Botanical Garden and the main difference between the National Botanical Garden and other botanical gardens.
Whether it is ex situ conservation of resources, plant scientific research, or science communication and horticultural display, they are all based on a rich collection of species.
In addition, the strong scientific research strength is the strongest support of the National Botanical Garden.
Without scientific research, it is impossible to understand the wild survival status and genetic diversity of rare and endangered plants, and it is impossible to formulate scientific and reasonable protection measures, and ex situ protection will be blind; scientific research is also the source of scientific popularization. Popularity has become water without a source.
In addition to ex situ conservation, science dissemination and horticultural display are also important functions of the National Botanical Garden.
Ye Jianfei said that the National Botanical Garden will help improve people's understanding of plants and biodiversity conservation, and further enhance the relationship between man and nature.
Zhou Zhihua pointed out that the construction of the national botanical garden system is of great significance.
The first is to share the resources of various national botanical gardens to comprehensively improve the level of botanical research in my country; the second is to realize the ex situ protection of plants in many places, which is conducive to reducing the risk of extinction of plant species caused by regional natural disasters, extreme weather and emergencies; It is conducive to leading and demonstrating the scientific development of national botanical gardens, improving the construction level of botanical gardens in my country, and realizing the balanced development of various botanical gardens; fourth, combining the advantages of regional characteristics, collecting and displaying rare and endangered plants with national characteristics can make the national botanical gardens a display of China's long history, culture and nationality. It is an important carrier of spirit, providing the people with high-quality ecological products and wonderful spiritual enjoyment.
How to protect? Planning to collect more than 30,000 living plants
On the logo of the National Arboretum, the two leaf figures represent metasequoia and ginkgo respectively.
As the most common tree species in urban greening, the wild plants of Metasequoia and Ginkgo biloba are actually very rare, and they are all listed as national first-class protected wild plants.
From rare to common, Metasequoia has witnessed the achievements of my country's ex situ conservation work in recent years.
At present, the Metasequoia Forest in the South Garden and the Cherry Ditch in the North Garden of the National Botanical Garden have become the largest Metasequoia conservation forests in northern my country.
At the same time, Metasequoia is widely cultivated in more than 80 countries around the world, covering Asia, Africa, Europe, America and other continents.
Ye Jianfei said that ex situ conservation is not simply to dig plants and plant them in botanical gardens, but to artificially move threatened species, regionally endemic species or species of important economic value from their origin to other regions. Institutions, such as botanical gardens, arboretums, etc., shall be protected, including the establishment of germplasm resource banks to preserve plant seeds, tissues, organs, etc.
Due to the variety and complexity of factors threatening plant survival, any single conservation approach is unlikely to be successful.
In recent years, the comprehensive conservation concept combining in situ conservation, ex situ conservation and plant return has been increasingly valued and applied to the conservation of plant diversity.
According to Wang Kang, from the end of the 20th century to the present, the North and South Gardens have carried out live plant collection and protection of living plants, focusing on gymnosperms, orchids and other groups on the basis of comprehensive species cataloguing, field investigation and endangerment assessment of higher plants in China. He has collected and preserved more than 2,000 species of living orchids from all over the world, and has carried out ex situ conservation work on endangered species such as the big flower orchid, lilac-leaf honeysuckle and Baihuashan grape.
Wang Kang said that, taking the big flower orchid as an example, in 2004, the Beijing Botanical Garden launched the resource survey and conservation research of the scoliosis plant in the Beijing area, so that the endangered species of the big flower orchid has been restored to the high mountains in Beijing. bloom.
In 2008, the Beijing Botanical Garden conducted an in-depth investigation of the wild living conditions of the genus Dillorchid in North China and Northeast my country.
Since 2016, the conservation research team of the Beijing Botanical Garden has gone to Sichuan Huanglong National Nature Reserve in the Hengduan Mountains to carry out conservation biology research on local orchids. From 2019 to 2020, about 4,000 temperate alpine orchids have returned to the ground. seedling.
"Beijing Botanical Garden also cooperates with nature reserves such as Sanjiangyuan in Qinghai, Changbai Mountain in Jilin, Erguna in Inner Mongolia, etc. to carry out conservation research and field return of rare and endangered orchids. This is a dynamic conservation project, and new areas are created every year. Or new species will be added." Wang Kang said.
In the future, the National Botanical Garden will do more work on ex situ conservation.
Wang Kang said that the National Botanical Garden will focus on collecting native plants in the Three North Regions, representative plants in the northern temperate zone, representative plants in different geographic regions around the world, and rare and endangered plants, as well as representative plant specimens from five continents, and plans to collect 30,000 species of live plants. The above covers 80% of the families and 50% of the genera of Chinese plant species, accounting for 10% of the world's plant species; 5 million representative plant specimens from five continents are collected, covering 100% of the families and 95% of the genera in China.
Rare plants are in the "garden"
dove tree
Dove tree is known as the "Chinese pigeon tree" and is a rare and precious ornamental plant unique to my country.
In the perennial flower garden in the North Garden of the National Botanical Garden, the trees and flowers of Dove tree are as white as jade, elegant as feathers, and the breeze blows like a flock of white pigeons.
Chitose Orchid
Chitose orchid has only two leaves in its life and never falls off. It is a "living fossil" left in ancient times, and it is generally more than hundreds of years old.
The Chitose Orchid in the North Garden Exhibition Greenhouse of the National Botanical Garden is one of the three "Treasures of the Town Garden" in the National Botanical Garden.
Metasequoia
Metasequoia is the oldest extant tree species in the world and is known as the "living fossil" of the plant kingdom.
There are Metasequoia Conservation Areas in the North Garden and the South Garden of the National Botanical Garden, which have become the largest Metasequoia conservation forests in northern China.
Wenguanguo
Wenguan fruit is produced in the northern and northeastern parts of my country and wild in hills and slopes. The Wenguan fruit tree is graceful, with beautiful leaves, purple or yellow petals at the base, and magnificent flowers. It is displayed in the north and south gardens of the National Botanical Garden.
(Organized by Yao Yaqi)
(The pictures in this version are all information pictures unless they are signed)