Media Coverage: Research Achievements of the Digital Ecosystem Group Featured by BBC Wildlife

On February 28, 2025, the research findings from the Digital Ecosystem Group were featured in BBC Wildlife (Discover Wildlife), with the full report available at https://www.discoverwildlife.com/plant-facts/trees/how-many-trees-are-there-in-china. This pioneering study, published in Science Bulletin, delivers the most detailed assessment of tree abundance and spatial distribution across China to date, achieved by integrating over 400 terabytes of data from 76,000 forest plots with environmental factors and advanced machine-learning algorithms.

Key findings include: as of 2020, China had a staggering 142.6 billion trees, about 100 per person, with an average density of 689 trees per hectare. Cold temperate coniferous forests account for over 60% of the total, while Sichuan, Heilongjiang, Yunnan and Guangxi collectively hold 32% of China’s trees. Tibet has the highest per capita tree count, nearly 2,000 per person.

This research answers the question of “how many trees are there in China” and provides a vital tool for conservation and policy-making, supporting China’s plan to plant and restore 70 billion trees in the next decade.