China releases new database on biodiversity

China has released an updated national species database, known as the Catalogue of Life China 2022 Annual Checklist, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Sunday.

The checklist of this year added 10,343 species compared with the 2021 checklist, bringing the total number of species to 138,293, including 68,172 animal species, 46,725 plant species, and 17,173 fungi species, among others.

The species checklist provides data basis that is beneficial for biodiversity research, conservation and policy-making, said an official with Biodiversity Committee under the CAS, adding that China is the only country that publishes the biological species checklist every year.

It was jointly compiled by researchers from the Institute of Zoology, the Institute of Botany, the Institute of Microbiology, the Chengdu Institute of Biology and the Institute of Oceanology under the CAS as well as other institutions.