![Xishuangbanna Primeval Forest Park - panoramio - Colin W (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Xishuangbanna_Primeval_Forest_Park_-_panoramio_-_Colin_W_%281%29.jpg)
The flora of
China consists of a diverse range of plant species including over 39,000
vascular plant
Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They ...
s, 27,000 species of
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
and 3000 species of
bryophyte
The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...
s.
[Wu, Z. Y., P. H. Raven & D. Y. Hong, eds. 2006. Flora of China. Vol. 22 (Poaceae). Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis] More than 30,000 plant species are native to China, representing nearly one-eighth of the world's total plant species, including thousands found nowhere else on Earth. China's land, extending over 9.6 million km, contains a variety of
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s and climates for plants to grow in. Some of the main climates include shores, tropical and subtropical forests, deserts, elevated plateaus and mountains. The events of the
continental drift
Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The idea of continental drift has been subsumed into the science of pl ...
and early Paleozoic Caledonian movement also play a part in creating climatic and geographical diversity resulting in high levels of endemic vascular flora. These landscapes provide different ecosystems and climates for plants to grow in, creating a wide variety of different flora spanning over not just China, but different parts of the world.
Vascular plants
China has over 39,000 vascular plants, including
angiosperms,
gymnosperm
The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, '' Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμν ...
s,
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
s (monilophytes) and
fern allies
Fern allies are a diverse group of seedless vascular plants that are not true ferns. Like ferns, a fern ally disperses by shedding spores to initiate an alternation of generations.
Classification
Originally, three or four groups of plants were ...
(lycophytes). Approximately 31,500 of these being native and over 50% being
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
.
[Hong, D. Y., & Blackmore, S. (Eds.). (2015). Plants of China: A companion to the flora of China. Cambridge University Press] The vascular plants of China have been documented extensively in the
Flora of China (series)
''Flora of China'' is a scientific publication aimed at describing the plants native to China.
The project is a collaborative scientific effort to publish the first modern English-language account of the 31,000 species of vascular plants of C ...
.
Native species
![China Aster (Callistephus Chinensis)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/China_Aster_%28Callistephus_Chinensis%29.jpg)
Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
is a well-known family containing many species that have been used in China for medicine as well as ornamental plants. Common species include the
Callistephus
''Callistephus'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, containing the single species ''Callistephus chinensis''. Its common names include China aster and annual aster.Gilman, E. F. and T. Howe''Callistephus ch ...
, also known as the Chinese Aster, which is native to China.
![Eucommia ulmoides 5zz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Eucommia_ulmoides_5zz.jpg)
Dawn redwood
''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus ''Metasequoia'', one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. It now ...
(''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'') is a
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
conifer native to the Luchuan country of the Hubei province in China.
[Xiong, Y., Chen, S., Guo, B. et al. (2020). An efficient micropropagation protocol for Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng from shoot segments of 2-year-old trees. Trees 34, 307–313 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-019-01905-7][Sawe, B. E. (2019, July 10). Plants Native to China. Retrieved from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/native-plants-of-the-people-s-republic-of-china.html] It is the only remaining species of ''Metasequoia'' with only approximately 5000 individuals left in the wild.
Gutta-percha
Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from ...
tree (''Eucommia ulmoides'') is a small tree that has alternately arranged, deciduous leaves and is almost threatened in the wild.
However, it is widely cultivated by the people of China for its bark which has medicinal properties. It is also important in China's natural rubber producing industry as its leaf produces a latex compound when torn which dries into rubber.
Happy tree (''
Camptotheca acuminate'') is a low-growing deciduous tree native to the arm, humid river banks along the Yangtze River. The leaves, bark, roots, and seeds have medicinal properties that have been used to treat the common cold, liver problems, digestive problems, and psoriasis in the past.
Yunnan Cypress (''
Cupressus duclouxiana'') is an endemic coniferous tree species that occur in the low altitude regions of Central China.
This species is threatened by habitat loss and is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Other native plants include
Golden Larch
''Pseudolarix amabilis'' is a species of coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. The species is commonly known as golden larch, but being more closely related to ''Keteleeria'', ''Abies'' and ''Cedrus'', is not a true larch (''Larix''). ' ...
(''Pseudolarix kaempferi''), dove-tree (''
Davidia involucrata
''Davidia involucrata'', the dove-tree, handkerchief tree, pocket handkerchief tree, or ghost tree, is a medium-sized deciduous tree in the family Nyssaceae. It is the only living species in the genus ''Davidia''. It was previously included wi ...
''), China fir (''Cunninghamia lanceolate''),
Fujian Cypress (''Fokienia hodginsii''), Tienchi Ginseng (''
Panax notoginseng
''Panax notoginseng'' is a species of the genus '' Panax'', and it is commonly referred to in English as Chinese ginseng
* or notoginseng. In Chinese it is called ''tiánqī'' (), tienchi ginseng, ''sānqī'' () or ''sanchi'', three-seven root, ...
'') and ''
Lycium chinense
''Lycium chinense'' is one of two species of boxthorn shrub in the family Solanaceae. Along with ''Lycium barbarum'', it produces the goji berry ("wolfberry"). Two varieties are recognized, ''L. chinense'' var. ''chinense'' and ''L. chinense'' ...
''.
Fungi
The fungal flora of China is extensive with over 27,000 fungal species. As of 2018, China has reported 1789 edible
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
and 798 medicinal fungi. Notably, fungi played a vital part of China's traditional native plant use, with recent archaeology findings determining its significance in regions of China around 6000 years ago and dating as far back as the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
(600–900 ce). Consequently, its significance in Chinese herbal medicine, culture, and cuisine broadened their understanding of the plant, resulting in our more intricate knowledge of fungi. The use of Chinese fungi was first documented in an ancient Chinese book dating to the second century, entitled Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), which references 14 different types of fungi used among a total of 365 herbal medicines.
The fungal records from the Checklist of Fungi in China and the Flora Fungorum Sinicorum series reveal that the distribution of fungi in China is uneven, particularly in Northwest China. Northwest China includes the provinces of Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, and Shaanxi making up over 30% of the country's territory, however, only 3887 species of fungi out of 759 genera have been yielded there. In comparison, the tropical regions of South-Central China and Southwest China, which includes the provinces of Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan, account for less than 5% of the country's territory but have yielded 5,056 species in 1192 general. However, there is a difference in the precipitation levels in both areas and these climatic and geographical conditions may possibly be a reason for the fungal diversity in the two regions.
Mushroom cultivation plays a major role in the ecological and social development of China. According to the State of World's fungi report 2018, over 100 species of fungi have been domesticated for cultivation with around 60% being produced commercially.
[Fang, R., et al. (2018). Country focus: China. In: K. J. Willis (ed.), State of the World's Fungi. Report. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. pp. 48–55] It not only provides food but also income and around 25 million jobs. China has become one of the largest edible mushroom producers in the world reaching an estimated annual yield of over 38 million tonnes.
Vegetation types
Forests
![Castanopsis sieboldii2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Castanopsis_sieboldii2.jpg)
There are six forest regions in China. This includes the North, Northeast, Northwest, South Central, Southeast, and Southwest.
[Tang, C. Q. (2015). The Subtropical Vegetation of Southwestern China Plant Distribution, Diversity and Ecology . Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.] Both northeast and northwest reaches contain mountains and cold coniferous forests, supporting animal species which include
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...
and
Asiatic black bear
The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an or ...
, along with some 120 types of birds. Moist
conifer forests can have thickets of
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
as an understorey, replaced by
rhododendrons in higher montane stands of
juniper and
yew. Northeast China contains one of the major forest regions in China.
[Kolbek, J., Srutek, M., & Box, E. E. O. (2003). Forest Vegetation of Northeast Asia (1st ed. 2003.). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0143-3] The cold-temperate deciduous needle-leaved forest region is located in northernmost Northeast China. This region is also composed of the long, narrow ranges of
gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
and granite which form the Eastern margin of the
Mongolian Plateau
The Mongolian Plateau is the part of the Central Asian Plateau lying between 37°46′-53°08′N and 87°40′-122°15′E and having an area of approximately . It is bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin Mountains to ...
. Deciduous conifer forests, also known as light taiga forests, are the zonal vegetation in this region. In this region, you can also find
dwarf forest
Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humi ...
s,
Picea jezoensis
''Picea jezoensis'' (sometimes misspelled ''Picea yezoensis''), the dark-bark spruce, Ezo spruce, Yezo spruce, or Jezo spruce, is a large evergreen tree growing to 30–50 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m. It is native to northeast ...
forests,
Betula dahurica
''Betula dahurica'' (lit. ' Daur birch'), Dahurian birch, or Asian black birch (), is a species of birch which is native to China, Japan, Korea, eastern Mongolia, and Russian Far East. It was introduced to the United Kingdom and also grows at th ...
forests, and more.
Temperate mixed forest regions make up the largest forest region in Northeast China. The climate in this region is milder and moister allowing mixed forests of evergreen coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved trees to dominate.
Pinus koraiensis
''Pinus koraiensis'' is a species of pine known commonly as the Korean pine. It is native to eastern Asia: Korea, northeastern China, Mongolia, the temperate rainforests of the Russian Far East, and central Japan. In the north of its range, it g ...
are the main species of this forest, however, several other evergreen coniferous tree species can be found in the forests such as
Abies holophylla
''Abies holophylla'', also called needle fir or Manchurian fir, is a species of fir native to mountainous regions of northern Korea, southern Ussuriland, and China in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning.
It is an evergreen c ...
.
These forests are important in China for timber production but also house the Panax ginseng, which is a valuable medicinal plant.
Subtropical forests, which dominate central and southern China, support an astounding 146,000 species of
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...
. South China experiences heavy rainfall and long wet seasons, making the climate ideal for bamboo and rice growth. North China by contrast experiences limited rainfall and far less species diversification than the south (Kressey, George, 1930).
Tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
rainforest and seasonal rainforests, though confined to
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
and
Hainan Island
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly ...
, contain a quarter of all the plant and animal
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
found in China. The Southwest forest region is made up of Tibet, Yunan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing. This region contains a number of valuable ancient and relict trees such as
Ginkgo biloba
''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago. Fossil ...
, which is a distinctive
paleoendemic Paleoendemism along with neoendemism is a possible subcategory of endemism. Paleoendemism refers to species that were formerly widespread but are now restricted to a smaller area. Neoendemism refers to species that have recently arisen, such as thro ...
species originating from the Permian Era of the
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
.
The Chinese landscape has undergone geographical shifts creating some of the most vital habitats in the world. The topography of China changed when tectonic plate shifts developed the uplift of the Himalaya Mountains and the Tibetan plateau. A result of changing topography changed the climate of inner China resulting in the deserts of the Xinjing region and the dry climate of the north and northwest China (Marks, R. 2017). China's biodiversity today can be linked back to 13,000 years ago marking the end of a global ice age. A large portion of China was not covered with the same layer of ice as Eurasia and North America, allowing species prior to the ice age to survive well past the freezing period (Marks, R. 2017). The Southwest forest region is an important glacial refuge supporting high diversity as it was not majorly affected by the last ice sheet. This allowed species that originated from the
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
to the Early
Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
, such as Amentotaxus argoenia,
Podocarpus spp and Dacrydium pierrei, to continue growing.
There are four representative subtropical broad-leaved forests of Southwest China; the semi-humid forest, monsoon forest, mid-montane forest, and typical broad-leaved forest.
Cyclobalanopsis
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...
,
Castanopsis
''Castanopsis'', commonly called chinquapin or chinkapin, is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 140 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total o ...
, and
Lithocarpus are some of the species which dominate the four types of forests. Other species that dominate the monsoon forest include
Machilus
''Machilus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae. It is found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical forest, occurring in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indochina, the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philip ...
,
Beilschmiedia
''Beilschmiedia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, N ...
,
Cryptocarya
''Cryptocarya'' is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropical, Afrotropical, Indomalayan, and Australasian realms.
Overview
The genus incl ...
(Lauraceae) and
Schima
''Schima'' is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the tea family, Theaceae.
The genus inhabits warm temperate to subtropical climates across southern and southeastern Asia, from the eastern Himalaya of Nepal and eastern India across Ind ...
(Theaceae). Machilus and Schima are also found in mid-montane forests as well as
Cinnamomum
''Cinnamomum'' is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of ''Cinnamomum'' have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains approximately 250 species, distributed in ...
,
Manglietia, and Alcimandra. The humid evergreen forests are also dominated by different species of
Lauraceae,
Magnoliaceae
The Magnoliaceae () are a flowering plant family, the magnolia family, in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two genera: ''Magnolia'' and '' Liriodendron'' (tulip trees).
Unlike most angiosperms, whose flower parts are in whorls (rings), t ...
,
Theaceae
Theaceae (), the tea family, is a family of flowering plants comprising shrubs and trees, including the economically important tea plant, and the ornamental camellias. It can be described as having from seven to 40 genera, depending on the sour ...
,
Elaeocarpaceae
Elaeaocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family contains approximately 615 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera."Elaeocarpaceae" In: Klaus Kubitzki (ed.). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol. VI. Springer-Verlag: Be ...
.
Use by humans
Over 10,000 of the species have been implemented in at least one of the fields with a vast majority in medicine. Nowadays, Chinese plants have been exported all around the world to be studied or used for food or used in the medicinal system.
The Chinese originated medicinal plant
Artemisia annua
''Artemisia annua'', also known as sweet wormwood, sweet annie, sweet sagewort, annual mugwort or annual wormwood (), is a common type of wormwood native to temperate Asia, but naturalized in many countries including scattered parts of North Am ...
, also known as sweet wormwood, is one of the most well known medicinal plants to come from China, having been used since ancient times to treat fevers as well as a possible treatment for malaria in the 1970s.
Poaceae, also known as grasses, are a very economically important group with around 1795 species (809 being endemic) in China.
Species from this family such as
Phyllostachys heteroclada, which was one of the more popular bamboos, were used to weave everyday objects such as bamboo mats as well as children's toys.
Plants have also played a large role in China's history and culture having been symbolically used in art, architecture and religion. Different plants can be interpreted differently depending on their characteristics. Plants can be symbolically used through either association or through puns of the Chinese characters of the plant's name. The
paeonia (paeony) is one of the most popular botanical images in Chinese culture with its beauty symbolising wealth, honor and rank.
Research exhibits data that tells us the number of useful plants that are endemic, threatened, or both such as how 3552 (33%) of useful plants are endemic to China with 1353 of those having been included in at least one list of globally threatened species. This includes the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
Conservation and threat
![Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Ragweed_%28Ambrosia_artemisiifolia%29.jpg)
The arrival of humans has caused a disturbance and had a great impact on the evolution of plants in China. The introduction of factors such as climate change and pollution has impacted the climatic and geographical location and diversity of plants. Fungi being less recorded in Central and Eastern China where there is more agricultural and industrial development and habitat destruction can be seen as an example of this.
Recently, it has been reported that Fritillaria delavayi, a small high in demand flower located in Southwest China, has been evolving to camouflage with its environment to avoid getting picked. This plant has been used for medicinal purposes for the last 2000 years but demand has steadily started to increase, resulting in the flower developing grey and brown leaves to blend in with its rocky surrounding.
Conservation
In early 2002, China endorsed the
Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) is a program of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity founded in 1999. The GSPC seeks to slow the pace of plant extinction around the world through a strategy of 5 objectives.
History
The G ...
providing an approach for preserving the estimated 300,000 to 425,000 species of vascular plants in in-situ and ex-situ preservation.
[Ren, H., Qin, H., Ouyang, Z., Wen, X., Jin, X., Liu, H., … Zhao, L. (2019). Progress of implementation on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation in (2011–2020) China. Biological Conservation, 230, 169–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.12.030][Huang, H., Han, X., Kang, L., Raven, P., Jackson, P. W., & Chen, Y. (2002). Conserving native plants in China. Science, 297(5583), 935-936.] In response to this, The
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...
(CAS) established an ex situ conservation program to help efficiently manage the ex-situ conservation of indigenous plants in China. Their 12 botanical garden institutions serve as conservation, research as well as public education and with the program, they planned to create five regional gardens, establish nine specialized ones as well as acquire and renovate 15 existing ones. The five regions on which new gardens would be established were the temperate and plain forest of North China; the Yangtze River regional aquatic flora (east-central China); the subtropical monsoon evergreen broadleaved forest (South China); tropical rainforest (southwest China); and the south-central China Henduan mountain flora.
In 2008, China's Strategy for Plant Conservation was adopted as a joint initiative of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the
National Forestry and Grassland Administration
The State Forestry and Grassland Administration () is an administration of the People's Republic of China, in charge of the national forestry affairs. It was founded in 1949 as Ministry of Forestry and Farming. On November 5, 1951, it changed to ...
, and the
Ministry of Ecology and Environment
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, formerly the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China, and prior to 2008 known as the State Environmental Protection Administration, is a department of the State Council of t ...
.
More than 3000 nature reserves have been created, covering approximately 16% of China's land surface. This includes more than 85% of types of terrestrial natural ecosystems, 40% of types of natural wetlands, 20% of native forests, and 65% of natural communities of vascular plants.
Invasive species
China has a long history of intentional and non-intentional introduction of invasive species. Invasive species are widespread in the country representing many major
taxonomic groups. The rapid growth of China's economy, trade and transportation systems provide increased opportunities for the introduction of invasive species. With their dense population, areas that are more populated tend to have a larger number of invasive plants. China has attempted to combat the problematic alien species through enhanced awareness, developing a database of invasive species, monitory as well as other methods.
[Yan, X., Zhenyu, L., Gregg, W.P. et al. Invasive species in China — an overview. Biodiversity and Conservation 10, 1317–1341 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016695609745]
Ceratocystis fimbriata
''Ceratocystis fimbriata'' is a fungus and a plant pathogen, attacking such diverse plants as the sweet potato (''black rot'') and the tapping panels of the Para rubber tree (''moldy rot''). It is a diverse species that attacks a wide variety of ...
and
Ragweed
Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus ''Ambrosia'' in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, especially North America,[agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...]
.
Ragweed is a threat to public health as well as the ecological integrity of China, affecting the production of farming and animal husbandry.
[Chen, H., Chen, L., & Albright, T. P. (2007). Developing habitat-suitability maps of invasive ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia. L) in China using GIS and statistical methods. In GIS for Health and the Environment (pp. 105-121). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71318-0_8] Alligator weed
''Alternanthera philoxeroides'', commonly referred to as alligator weed, is a native species to the temperate regions of South America, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Argentina alone hosts around 27 species that fall with ...
(Alternanthera philoxeroides) is another invasive species particularly affecting forestry.
Other damaging and widespread species in China include
Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), Crofton weed (
Eupatorium adenophorum), and Spinyflower alternanthera (
Alternanthera pungens
''Alternanthera pungens'' is a creeping, prostrate perennial pioneer plant of the family Amaranthaceae, spreading by seed and vegetatively, with roots often developing at the nodes of spreading stems. A plant of roadsides, path verges and wast ...
).
References
External links
*
eflora: ''Flora of China''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flora Of China