鼎湖山国家级自然保护区于1956年6月30日正式建立，是中国第一个自然保护区[1]。该保护区致力于保护南亚热带季风常绿阔叶林及其生物多样性，经过70年的建设与管理，已成为生态保护的典范。根据中国科学院华南植物园研究员曹洪麟的介绍，保护区森林覆盖率维持在98%，保存有8种天然森林植被类型[1]。
保护区内的生物多样性保护成果显著。现就地保护野生高等植物1948种，占广东省高等植物种数的30%[1]；调查记录有兽类43种、鸟类277种、爬行类59种、两栖类23种[1]。1979年，鼎湖山保护区被联合国教科文组织批准为世界生物圈保护区[1]。以该保护区为研究对象的学术论文迄今已发表2200余篇[1]，保护区早在1992年就开始建立生物多样性长期监测样地[1]。
中国自然保护区建设已历经四个阶段：起步发展（1956-1978年）、稳步发展（1979-1993年）、快速发展（1994-2009年）、稳固完善（2010年至今）[1]。如今，中国已建立各级各类自然保护区2600多处，有效保护了90%的陆地生态系统类型和74%的国家重点保护野生动植物种群[1]。
Dinghu Mountain National Nature Reserve was formally established on June 30, 1956, marking the beginning of China's organized nature conservation efforts as the country's first nature reserve [1]. Located in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, the reserve was designated to protect the subtropical monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest ecosystem and its biodiversity [1]. In 1979, the reserve received further international recognition when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization designated it as a World Biosphere Reserve [1].
Over seven decades of protection, the reserve has become a model of conservation success. The forest coverage rate has been maintained at 98 percent, encompassing eight types of natural forest vegetation [1]. The reserve currently protects 1,948 species of wild vascular plants—accounting for 30 percent of all vascular plant species in Guangdong Province—alongside 43 mammal species, 277 bird species, 59 reptile species, and 23 amphibian species [1]. Early recognition of the importance of long-term ecological monitoring led the reserve to establish biodiversity monitoring sample plots as early as 1992 [1]. The scientific significance of the reserve is underscored by the publication of more than 2,200 academic papers based on research conducted there [1].
The establishment of Dinghu Mountain Reserve reflected the beginning of a broader national conservation framework. China has since developed its nature reserve system through four distinct phases: initial development from 1956 to 1978, steady growth from 1979 to 1993, rapid expansion from 1994 to 2009, and consolidation from 2010 to the present [1]. Today, China has established more than 2,600 nature reserves at various levels, effectively protecting 90 percent of terrestrial ecosystem types and 74 percent of nationally protected wildlife species populations [1].