On July 26, 2023, ZHANG Yuhong, head of the Wildlife Protection Division of the Liaoning Forestry and Grassland Bureau, visited the Endangered Wild Plant Propagation and Translocation Conservation Center, a research unit of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The Center is waiting for approval from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration to become an official conservation center of Liaoning Province. HE Xingyuan, head of the Arboretum of IAE, Chen Wei, deputy head, and YU Jinghua, researcher, accompanied the visit.

ZHANG Yuhong first toured the Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Protection and Utilization of Liaoning Province, where she learned about the experimental facilities and research progress. She then visited the Arboretum of IAE and its branch campus at Shenbei New District.

HE Xingyuan gave a detailed introduction of the Arboretum’s achievements in translocation conservation, domestication cultivation, and other aspects of endangered plant research. He also showed visitors the conservation status of some endangered and protected plants such as Salix matsudana, as well as the infrastructure for seedling breeding and domestication in greenhouses.

The two sides had an in-depth discussion on the protection of endangered plants in Liaoning Province. ZHANG Yuhong offered suggestions on the construction of the endangered plant collection area.

The Endangered Wild Plant Propagation and Translocation Conservation Center carries out in situ conservation, translocation conservation, germplasm resource preservation, artificial propagation and other work on endangered wild plants in Liaoning province. This visit fully demonstrated the fruitful results of the Center in scientific research and conservation of endangered plants, laying a solid foundation for the successful approval by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.