World's Highest Botanical Garden Opens

What is believed to be the highest-altitude botanic garden in the world recently opened in Yunnan Province in southern China. The Lijiang Alpine Botanical Garden was built jointly by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Kunming Plant Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Elevations in the garden range from 2,680 metres to 4,300 metres.

One of China's most biologically diverse regions, the Lijiang area has recently begun to experience pressure from development. Many plants traditionally used by people native to the area are seriously threatened. Researchers hope to cultivate the unique alpine plants of the area at a field station constructed at the garden and study conservation issues of the montane habitat.

Links:

• Sino-British botanists join forces to set up an alpine botanic garden in southwest China from the Chinese Acadamy of Sciences


• Highest Botanical Garden Built in Yunnan from China.org


• Lijiang Botanic Garden and Research Station from the News and Events section at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:14 PM on February 10, 2005

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