AI empowers biodiversity guardians

At SCBG's herbarium, AI and big data are transforming conservation. An intelligent specimen management system, Cathaya, digitized 50,000 plant specimens in 2024 alone. Its companion app, BioGrid, which was developed using AI and scientific databases, has now gathered over 400,000 occurrences and enables real-time species identification and public participation in biodiversity projects.

"This system sets a new paradigm for biodiversity research," said Luo Shixiao, the herbarium's curator. Engineer Xu Zhoufeng added that BioGrid enhances precision in plant localization and data collection, bridging gaps between experts and citizens.