Sowing for A Green Future
Technology helps rare plant species to thrive in the Yangtze River basin
Students and volunteers participating in a tree-planting activity at an islet in the Yangtze River on 12 March, the National Tree Planting Day, witnessed the return of two rare species to their native habitat. Artificially bred Myricaria laxiflora and Plantago fengdouensis were transplanted on the slopes of the islet. Located in the county of Zigui, Yichang, Hubei Province of central China, the islet is a typical area affected by the fluctuation of water levels in the Yangtze River. Most of it is immersed in water during the wet season, which lasts for months, and emerges during the dry season. The adverse conditions have made afforestation of such areas a challenging task.
Thanks to the efforts of the Rare Plants Research Institute of Yangtze River, an affiliate of China Three Gorges Corp. (CTG), endangered plant species endemic to the Yangtze River that adapt to such conditions are discovered, bred and transplanted back to the wild.
In doing so, the centre aims to not only reinforce the soil and protect the banks of the river, but also restore biodiversity in the Yangtze River Basin.
“We are proud that 560 rare plant species identified in the Three Gorges Reservoir area have all been effectively protected,” Huang Guiyun, head of the institute, told ChinAfrica.
Return to nature
Among the 2,000 pieces of Plantago fengdouensis planted during the event, 500 were descendants of space-mutation breeding plants, marking the first time the space-breeding species has been reintroduced into the wild.
First discovered in Fengdu County in upstream Chongqing Municipality in 2001, Plantago fengdouensis has a limited distribution area and was once considered extinct in the wild. In 2022, around 4,000 Plantago fengdouensis seeds were taken aboard the Shenzhou-13