To reverse the global trend of biodiversity loss, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), was adopted at the second part of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in 2020. The framework sets a clear target to conserve 30% of the world’s terrestrial, inland water, and coastal/marine areas by 2030.
Recently, the Book Ethnobiology and Development in Asia: The Belt and Road Initiative, with the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (KIB/CAS) as the first author unit, has been officially published by Springer, a world-renowned academic publishing house. The eBook version of the book was launched on February 13, 2026.
Urticaceae is a large family within the order Rosales of angiosperms, currently comprising 54 genera with approximately 2,600 species. The family is distributed worldwide, with its species diversity centered in tropical regions, particularly tropical Asia and Central and South America, while temperate regions exhibit relatively lower species diversity. Morphologically, Urticaceae exhibits high ...
Dr. SHUI Yumin from the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences(KIB/CAS) received the Rudolf Ziesenhenne Award (Fig. 1) in 2025 from the American Begonia Society.
Investigation and research are extremely challenging in tropical rainforests, which possess powerful ecological functions. One reason is the diversity of tree species, particularly the canopy trees, which have unstable flowering periods, blooming twice in one year or not at all for several years, making surveys exceedingly difficult.
These anecdotes hint at a broader truth: organisms long accustomed to stable, optimal temperatures may lose their resilience to fluctuations—a case of "thriving in adversity, stagnating in comfort"
Seed dispersal is an essential process for plant reproduction and the maintenance of ecosystem functions. A large fraction of plants is dispersed by vertebrates, mostly birds and mammals which feed on fruits and release the seeds once they passed through their digestive tracts – a mechanism called endozoochory.
Early developmental stages of most organisms (e.g., embryos or floral buds) exhibit highly environmental sensitivity, making the protection of vulnerable offspring and its evolutionary implications a central theme in life history studies. A typical example is the amniotic fluid in mammals, which creates a stable microenvironment throughout gestation.
Humans enjoy sweet drinks, and some animals, too, are drawn to floral “sweet water,” making them important pollinators. Most nectar is colorless, but a few plants produce more conspicuous colored nectar to attract pollinators. It has been proposed that colored nectar may function as an honest signal, helping pollinators associate nectar color with reward, thereby enhancing pollination efficie...
