Aquatic plants mainly refer to all plants that grow in the aquatic environment for all or part of their time. Aquatic plants are important ecological groups and plant resources for plants. Aquatic plants have important ecological value and are the key ecological population to ensure the healthy operation of lake coastal ecosystems, as well as the foundation for the diversity of lake coastal ecosystems; Aquatic plants also have extremely high economic value and are closely related to human production and life; Aquatic plants also have extremely important scientific research value, such as the family Alismaceae, which is an important group for studying plant phylogeny.
China is one of the countries with abundant aquatic plant species resources. According to the 2020 White Paper on the Ecological Status of China's International Important Wetlands released by the China International Wetland Convention Compliance Office, China has 2186 species of wetland plants and a wetland vegetation coverage area of 1.7326 million hectares. Due to the fact that the environment of aquatic plants is more susceptible to human activities than terrestrial environments, the protection of aquatic plants is particularly important. At present, the protection of water resources and wetland restoration of rivers and lakes have become a major issue in the construction of contemporary ecological civilization and the construction of a low-carbon harmonious society. In order to meet the growing needs of the people for a beautiful ecological environment, the protection and application of aquatic plant resources have become a focus of attention, and the breadth and depth of related research are also further expanding.
The establishment of the Aquatic Plant Professional Committee will better organize scientific and technological workers, industry professionals, and aquatic plant enthusiasts, with the main goal of investigating and protecting wild aquatic plant resources in China. Corresponding scientific research, popularization, industry promotion, and domestic and foreign exchange activities will be carried out to promote the protection, research, and rational development and utilization of aquatic plant resources in China.
The Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is one of the earliest research institutes engaged in aquatic plant research in China, with a deep foundation in the research of aquatic plant diversity and aquatic vegetation resources. Based on the establishment of the Aquatic Plant Professional Committee at the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and with the significant achievements of the institute's many years of aquatic plant protection research, as well as the active efforts of the institute's strong scientific research institutions and teams, the protection and research of aquatic plants will definitely achieve new and greater results in the new development period, making new and greater contributions to the protection of biodiversity and the construction of ecological civilization in China.
At the same time, the newly established Aquatic Plant Professional Committee and the Aquatic Plant Resources and Environment Professional Committee of the Chinese Botanical Society held the "Third National Symposium on Aquatic Plant Resources and Environment" online. The invited domestic and foreign experts gave academic presentations on the forefront and latest technologies of aquatic plant research and water environment management. Scholars and scientific workers from scientific research institutions, colleges and universities, and enterprises and institutions engaged in aquatic plants, water environment, and aquatic ecology from all over the country attended the conference.