China's national botanical garden to establish ex-situ plant protection lab

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The National Botanical Garden of China will establish a key laboratory on ex-situ plant protection under the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the botanical garden administration said on Monday.

The laboratory will track international cutting-edge technologies and research, focus on wild plant protection and biosafety prevention and control, and conduct open technical research involving multiple disciplines.

It will also systematically carry out research on plant conservation biology and plant germplasm resource conservation, monitor and safeguard endangered plants, and provide technical support for in-situ protection of wild plants.

According to the development goal of the laboratory, the garden will collect and preserve 25,000 plant species within 10 years, including 1,500 rare and endangered species.

It also plans to create an open and shared plant diversity information database and an information-sharing management system, and become the main base and research center of the national plant ex-situ protection.