Abstract:

Although China has a very rich biodiversity, it is also part of a region where biodiversity resources have declined rapidly. Threats to biodiversity in China include a large human population, economic and industrial development, climate change, and exotic invasive species. In situ conservation of biodiversity is needed for sustainable development and natural resource management in China. We provide a summary of results of in situ conservation research and use these data to develop future research directions. The focal areas of in situ conservation research over the last 6 decades focused on biodiversity resource investigation, endangered species management, and the construction of nature reserves. Large efforts including a series of protection action plans were implemented by the Chinese government to improve biodiversity conservation. Future research on in situ biodiversity conservation in China should focus on: (1) the mechanisms of the formation and maintenance of biodiversity; (2) identify the major threats to the conservation of biodiversity; (3) be coupled with long-term monitoring for the effective management and (4) legislation of natural resources.

Key words: biodiversity, in situ conservation, nature reserve, protected area