Biodiv Sci ›› 2022, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (6): 22220.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2022220

• Forum • Previous Articles    

On China’s national botanical gardens: Building a comprehensive system of ex situ conservation of national botanical gardens with task oriented disciplines

Hongwen Huang1,2,*(), Jingping Liao1   

  1. 1. South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650
    2. Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang, Jiangxi 332900
  • Received:2022-04-25 Accepted:2022-05-17 Online:2022-06-20 Published:2022-06-13
  • Contact: Hongwen Huang

Abstract:

Background: The botanical garden was originally the product of the will of the “Royal” or “National”. The concept of botanical garden changed greatly since the origin of China’s “Shennong Herbal Garden” in 2,800 BC. The modern botanical gardens stemmed from the succession after the Western Renaissance have always functioned four main roles of scientific research, conservation, education and outreach. As the research institution specializing in wild plant collection, scientific research, introduction & acclimatization and conservation & utilization, the botanical gardens have always borne important missions of the country.
Aims & Conclusion: We systematically summarize the origin and evolution of botanical gardens; review and analyze the national botanical gardens and national botanical garden systems all over the world. Based on the history and development of China’s botanical gardens, we discuss the thoughts of establishing China’s national botanical garden system in five aspects: mission and aims, regional distribution, scientific research, talent team and infrastructure, aiming of building a comprehensive system for ex situ conservation of China’s national botanical gardens with tasks oriented disciplines.

Key words: missions and roles of botanical gardens, origin of botanical garden, plant introduction &, acclimatization, living plant collections, botanical garden based scientific research