On May 10, 2026, Academician Fang Xiaomin from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Professor Nie Junsheng (Dean of the School of Earth Sciences, Lanzhou University) and Professor Zhang Tao, visited the Gansu Liancheng Forest Ecosystem Field Scientific Observation and Research Station (Liancheng Field Station). During the visit, they conducted on-site inspections of the field station's main building and field observation plots, and provided guidance on station construction, long-term fixed-point observations, and the development of research platforms.
Accompanied by the station-based teachers and students, the experts toured the main building, where they received detailed briefings on the station's construction history, geographical characteristics, functional layout, and instrumentation. The station-based teachers and students also presented their observational capabilities and research progress on topics including tree growth responses to climate change, soil hydrothermal processes, and dynamic monitoring of climate and environmental conditions.
Subsequently, the delegation visited the nursery controlled experimental field to inspect the forest climate change control plots, meteorological and soil monitoring equipment, among other facilities. They offered valuable suggestions on experimental design, long-term soil respiration monitoring, and personnel training. The experts fully recognized the achievements of Liancheng Field Station in long-term forest ecosystem observations, noting its outstanding locational representativeness and solid observational foundation, which position it well to become a national-level field station. They encouraged the station to further pursue this national-level goal.
This inspection has charted a clear course for the future development of Liancheng Field Station. The station will take this as an impetus to continuously optimize its field observation platforms, strengthen long-term data accumulation and quality control, promote deeper integration of forest ecosystem research with regional ecological conservation practices, enhance its research support capacity and academic influence, and fully prepare for the application for national-level field station status, thereby providing solid scientific support for the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Qilian Mountains.
