Shennongjia National Park: Plant expert commits to maintaining forest ecosystem

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02:17

Located in central China's Hubei Province, the Shennongjia National Park is proud of its plant diversity. The area's ecological structure is fragile due to over-development a few decades ago. Now, the park is trying to make up for that by committing to green development. CGTN's Zhao Yunfei reports.

The Shennongjia forestry zone, home to more than 3,000 types of plants. Those who use Chinese medicine say many herbs in the woods can cure disease. Guo Yongbing is on a mission to find all the rare species and document them.

GUO YONGBING PLANT EXPERT, SHENNONGJIA NATIONAL PARK "Many medicinal materials in the Shennongjia area are not widely known. We should spread knowledge about them and grow more of them."

Guo says irrational market trends have caused local farmers to hunt for one type of medicine but ignore many others. Guo is seeking a balance in plant breeding.

GUO YONGBING PLANT EXPERT, SHENNONGJIA NATIONAL PARK "The Shennongjia area has high diversity in plants because its landform is also diverse. The high and low hills have created many different climates."

But the valleys can also block the spread of pollen. Therefore, they need bees to help out. The insect can carry pollen as far as 10 kilometers.

ZHAO YUNFEI SHENNONGJIA NATIONAL PARK "This is a beehive. Each box of bees can produce 15 kilograms of honey per year. That is not a lot, due to the high altitude of the Shennongjia area. Scientists are working on boosting both the quality and quantity of the bees."

Bee-keeping has become an industry here. The creature maintains a good ecosystem in the forest. The national park also pairs up with universities to conduct scientific research, a method to attract more elites to contribute.

BAI TIANYU BOTANICAL GRADUATE STUDENT "We hope to see more experts visit this place. The experiments we are doing are all based on what we learned from school. We need more scientific communication, even with international counterparts."

The national park is promoting green development in both ecology and the industry. Guo Yongbing says to ensure that, all measures should be backed by scientific methods. Zhao Yunfei, CGTN, at the Shennongjia National Park, China.