Biodiv Sci ›› 2017, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (9): 951-958.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2017186

• On the Mandate of Botanical Gardens • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Botanical gardens support urban sustainable development: a case study from the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden

Yonghong Hu1,2,*(), Shuting Yang1,2, Jun Yang1,2, Gilles Vincent1, Xiaoya Chen1,2   

  1. 1 Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602
    2 Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai 201602
  • Received:2017-06-26 Accepted:2017-09-17 Online:2017-09-20 Published:2017-10-04
  • Contact: Hu Yonghong

Abstract:

As a window into the world and a symbol of urban civilization, the botanical garden plays an important role in scientific research, conservation, science communication, cultural transmission, as well as leisure and entertainment. Its function also evolves and develops with time. Nowadays, it becomes more and more important for botanical gardens to take sustainable development into consideration so as to support urban sustainable development. In this paper, we reviewed the definition of the botanical garden, analyzed the history, function, and evolution of the botanical garden to find universal rules for development of botanical gardens. We also discussed challenges and opportunities that botanical gardens may face through urban development, and problems that need to be addressed in the process of integrating sustainability into botanical gardens. Lastly, we use the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden as an example to briefly discuss the role of the botanical garden in supporting urban sustainable development in the process of promoting scientific research, science communication, and international development. We hope this can provide some ideas for coordinated urban development.

Key words: botanical garden, function, city, sustainable development