BEIJING -- China has begun the construction of a major national germplasm resource facility for forestry and grassland conservation in Xiong'an New Area, which is situated some 100 km away from Beijing.

The move marks a significant step toward establishing a comprehensive conservation system for forestry and grassland germplasm resources in China, according to Beijing Forestry University (BFU), which is builder and operator of the facility.

In addition, the Xiong'an germplasm bank is expected to enhance the protection and utilization of these resources and improve the overall quality of the forestry and grassland seed industry, according to the university.

In recent years, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration has planned a network of seven national germplasm resource facilities across the country, which will adopt a "one main and six branch" distribution model.

The Xiong'an germplasm bank, construction of which began on Jan 25, will function as the national main facility, with an expected capacity of 1.8 million samples. It is expected to be officially operational by 2028.

It employs smart sensing and automated control technologies to provide comprehensive information management for the collection, preservation, distribution, and utilization of germplasm resources.

The Xiong'an New Area has been designed to take on functions transferred from Beijing that are not essential to its role as China's capital.

In addition to the Xiong'an facility, the Shandong, Xinjiang, and Hunan branch facilities are already operational. Meanwhile, the Inner Mongolia facility, which serves as the national forage germplasm resource center, has begun trial operations. Construction is underway for the Hainan and Qinghai branch facilities.

Additionally, 161 in situ and ex situ conservation facilities have been established in China, collecting over 100,000 forestry and grassland germplasm samples.

Furthermore, 388 provincial-level conservation facilities have been built nationwide.

Once completed, the Xiong'an facility will work with various branch facilities to support essential tasks such as resource collection, long-term strategic preservation, assessment and evaluation, functional gene exploration, distribution, and international collaboration, so as to bolster innovation in forestry and grassland seed industries, said the BFU.