On April 27, SCMU’s Hubei Province Wuling Mountain Area Wild Plant Natural Science and Technology Resource Repository once again distinguished itself in the 2024 annual performance evaluation of condition-support science and technology innovation bases (platforms) announced by the Hubei Provincial Department of Science and Technology, earning an excellence rating and becoming one of only 10 outstanding resource repositories recognized province-wide in 2024.
Building academic foundation through resource development. Since receiving comprehensive construction approval from the Hubei Provincial Department of Science and Technology in 2017, SCMU’s Hubei Province Wuling Mountain Area Wild Plant Natural Science and Technology Resource Repository has maintained unwavering focus on plant specimen collection and research. To date, the repository has accumulated 16,567 wild plant herbarium specimens from the Wuling Mountain area, totaling approximately 55,000 individual specimens, with 1,276 new specimens comprising 3,585 individual samples added in 2024 alone.
Advancing research innovation and academic impact. The repository achieved remarkable research outcomes in 2024. The platform undertook a total of 23 research projects, including 11 newly initiated projects, with total contracted funding of 3.5215 million yuan and annual received funding of 3.0702 million yuan. The repository published 18 research papers, including nine in SCI Q1 and top-tier journals, four in Q2 journals, two in Q3 journals, and three in Chinese core journals. Additionally, seven academic monographs were published. Professor Qin Yonghua’s team project was recognized as an “Outstanding Project” under Enshi Prefecture’s talent program, significantly enhancing the team’s academic influence.
Nurturing talent through science-education integration. Beyond research achievements, the repository actively contributes to talent development. In 2024 alone, the repository guided students in competitions, earning four national and provincial awards. In science popularization efforts, the repository was selected as a “Hubei Science Education Base” in 2022 and received the “National Advanced Science Popularization Collective” title in 2024. It conducted three training sessions for primary and secondary school teachers and provided training for 132 teachers from HSY-Optics Valley Tangxunhu School.
Serving society and supporting Hubei’s development. In 2024, the platform conducted comprehensive baseline plant resource surveys at Hubei Saiwudang National Nature Reserve. Using scientific field investigation methods including grid and transect sampling, the team established 34 survey transects, invested 264 person-days of fieldwork, covered 184.755 kilometers of field research, and surveyed 87.5% of the reserve’s grid areas. The team captured 27,000 photographs documenting plant morphology and habitats, identified 917 vascular plant species across 486 genera and 139 families within the reserve, and collected 720 new herbarium specimens comprising 2,076 individual samples for the platform’s Hubei Saiwudang National Nature Reserve plant collection.
Safflower germplasm resources preserved in the repository.
Photo courtesy of the Research and Development Institute
