Life thrives on Mount Emei as conservation takes root

Mount Emei has marked the 30th anniversary of its UNESCO World Heritage listing with a wave of biodiversity breakthroughs, successfully saving two critically endangered species once thought to be lost forever.

Through artificial breeding, precision tracking and a new smart monitoring network, local conservationists have successfully revived the Parakmeria omeiensis (a rare magnolia tree) and rediscovered the chevron-spotted brown frog — a "Lazarus taxon" that had vanished from scientific records for decades.

These breakthroughs are part of a broader ecological turnaround on the mountain. Over the last five years alone, local authorities have documented three animal species entirely new to science, alongside three newly recorded plant species and 16 newly recorded animal species.

The Parakmeria omeiensis is an evergreen tree endemic to Mount Emei and classified as a plant species with extremely small populations, said Yu Daoping, a researcher with the Sichuan Provincial Academy of Natural Resource Sciences.

The plant was first recorded by botanist Zheng Wanjun during fieldwork on Mount Emei in 1940 and was named in 1951 after its type locality, Yu said. It then disappeared from scientific observation for decades before researchers rediscovered one individual on a cliff in 1987. By 2012, only 74 wild individuals had been found, and the current wild population remains at just over 90 plants, Yu said.

In 2012, the species was included in China's conservation program for plant species with extremely small populations. It is also under first-class national protection and is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Yu said the magnolia is valuable not only because of its rarity, but also because members of the magnolia family are considered ancient groups among angiosperms. The species offers important evidence for studies of the origin, development and evolution of flowering plants and is also a reference indicator for regional forest ecosystem quality.

After more than 30 years of work, researchers have mastered seed propagation, grafting and other artificial breeding techniques, overcoming difficulties in fruiting, germination and seedling growth under natural conditions, Yu said. To date, more than 3,200 seedlings have been cultivated, and over 800 plants have been reintroduced in eight operations at five sites on Mount Emei, with survival rates remaining above 90 percent in the wild.

Another case is the chevron-spotted brown frog, or Rana chevronta, a critically endangered amphibian endemic to Mount Emei.

Liang Dong, an engineer at the ecological station of the Mount Emei forestry management office, said the frog has an extremely small population and a very narrow distribution range.

The species was first discovered in 1965 and named in 1978 by Hu Shuqin and Ye Changyuan, then researchers of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Liang said. For decades afterward, no living individual was recorded. Relying on field notes left by earlier zoologists to identify the historical discovery site, researchers found three individuals in 2024.

Liang said the frog lives in coniferous and broadleaf mixed forests at an altitude of about 1,800 meters, and feeds on insects and small animals. The site where it was rediscovered was the same as the location where it was found in 1965, and the timing of the two discoveries was also close, he said.

Researchers from the Chengdu Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu Normal University, Sichuan University and local institutions have strengthened studies and protection of the species in recent years, Liang said. The next step is to explore artificial breeding to increase its population.

Habitat quality is crucial for the frog, he added. Monitoring work showed that the chemical oxygen demand level at one breeding site was only 5 to 8 milligrams per liter, indicating very clean water, according to Liang.

"Last year we tested the water at its breeding site, and the chemical oxygen demand level was only 5 to 8 milligrams per liter. What does that mean? It means even the drinking water from the tap at our homes might not be as clean as that water," he said.

To support such conservation work, monitoring capacity has also been strengthened. According to local conservation authorities, a biodiversity monitoring demonstration project has deployed 73 infrared cameras, including 22 smart devices capable of real-time data transmission. The grid-based network now covers 85 percent of the target area.

The system has collected 2,956 valid wildlife image records and identified 46 wildlife species, including one under first-class national protection, 16 under second-class national protection and five species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

It has also helped authorities crack one poaching case. The project team plans to complete the deployment of 100 infrared cameras by the end of September and further explore artificial intelligence image recognition after the rainy season.

Known for its rich ecological resources, Mount Emei is home to more than 3,700 higher plant varieties and over 2,300 wild animal species, according to local conservation authorities. The mountain also serves as the type locality — the exact place where the very first specimen of a new species was collected — for 253 plant and 157 animal species.