The Institute of Applied Ecology, founded in 1954, is one of the key institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Created as a national research and talent training base of applied ecology, the Institute joined the Pilot Program of the Knowledge Innovation Project operated by CAS since 2001. The Institute has 314 working staff including 1 academician, 37 professors, 80 associate professors and senior engineers and 104 technicians.
The Institute’s main research areas are forest ecology and forestry eco-engineering, soil ecology and agricultural eco-engineering, and pollution ecology and environmental eco-engineering, with a focus on the rational utilisation and protection of natural, improvement of eco-environment, and sustainable development of forestry and agriculture. Currently, the Institute has three research centres, a bio-specimen gallery, an arboretum and a nationally certified analytical technology centre. There are seven field research stations sponsored by the Institute across the country.
There have been over 480 research achievements since the Institute was founded, including 24 state prizes and 163 provincial class prizes.
The Institute has developed international cooperation with many countries, and international academic exchanges have been established with about 100 institutes in more than 30 countries and regions.
The Institute focuses on postgraduate education; currently there are 130 Ph.D. students, 159 master degree students, and 29 postdoctoral fellows.