FairyLake Botanical Garden

The Follow-up and Inspection of Cycas Debaoensi One Year after its Return to Nature

It’s been a year since the Cycas debaoensis saplings returned to their hometown Huanglianshan Nature Reserve in Debao County, Guangxi in April 2008. On the morning of April 10, related officials and experts from Cycad Germplasm Conservation Center came to Huanglianshan Nature Reserve to check the growth of these saplings. It’s found that these 500 saplings are growing well, and 471 of them get new leaves. No rhizome decay or other important plant diseases were found. Deputy Director-General of Guangxi Bureau of Forestry Luo Yongkui spoke highly of the work of returning especially the actively and significantly technical guidance to Fairy Lake Botanical Garden.

It has a long way to go for Cycas debaoensis’ real successful return to nature. A series of scientific researches and ecological restoration experiments will be carried out next, until Cycas debaoensis could breed the next generation successfully and live in harmony with surrounding environment eventually.

After the inspection, officials and experts had a heated discussion about setting up a protection mechanism for Cycas debaoensis. Jia Jiansheng, Deputy Director of Protection Department of State ForestryAdministration, indicated that protecting rare and endangered species is an urgent problem in China, and we need to study the ways to protect all-important and rare species like Cycas debaoensis. It is of far-reaching significance to probe into ways to protect rare and endangered species and lead people to pay more attention to protect these species and the ecological environment that they live on.

Deputy Director of Protection Department of State Forestry Administration Jia Jiansheng(Right No.3), Deputy Director-General of Guangxi Bureau of Forestry Luo Yongkui (Right No.1) and PhD. Li Nan (Left No. 1)

(Author: Fang Shuijiao Photo: Fang Shuijiao Edited by: He Xiaolu)
Science & Technology Department
29 April 2009