As conservation biologists from around the globe travel to Beijing for the 2009 annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, they bring with them basic knowledge about biodiversity and environmental issues in the People's Republic of China (PRC). China is a megadiversity country, harboring about 12% of the flowering plants, 10% of mammals, and 14% of birds living on Earth. The PRC is one of the few countries that contain two global biodiversity hotspots; many species in these hotspots and throughout the country are Chinese endemics. China is also the homeland for rice and soybeans, agricultural staples on which billions of humans depend. Since 1956 the central government has acted on behalf of China's natural ecosystems, designating over 2500 protected areas across 15% of the country's land. In comparison with the United States, China has reserved more lands in considerably less time.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01239.xAltmetric score:
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Publication year
2009
Authors
Language
English
Keywords
biodiversity, carbon, ecology, biodiversity conservation
Geographic
China
