Tianshan Wild Fruit Forest is a globally important gene bank of economic fruit tree resources such as apple, walnut, apricot and plum. These include National Key Protected Plants of China such as the Vulnerable Malus sieversii and Data Deficient Prunus armeniaca, Prunus domestica and Prunus cerasifera. Tianshan Wild Fruit Forest lies in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Xinjiang in China, the latter comprising c. 10,000 ha (40% of the total area of this Forest).

As a result of the impact of diseases and insect pests, climate change and human activities, Tianshan Wild Fruit Forest has experienced extensive degradation. To protect this important forest, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China granted funding for a National Key Programme (Ecological Conservation and Health Control Technology of Degraded Wild Fruit Forest on the North Slope of Tianshan Mountains) during 2016–2020, led by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with the participation of 14 other organizations. This was followed by a SEE Foundation project (Conservation of Wild Apple in Tianshan Mountains) during 2021–2023.

In 7 years of research, the programme team has developed a system to artificially promote the wild apple population. As of May 2023, over 16,000 wild fruit tree seedlings have been successfully bred and planted in the Tianshan Wild Fruit Forest demonstration area. Currently, nearly 80% of the previously degraded wild fruit trees have begun to blossom and produce fruit, and the degraded wild fruit forest ecosystem has been extensively restored. In addition, this programme has led to the construction of the Yili Botanical Garden and Biological Germplasm Resources Bank for arid areas, which will provide a home for development and utilization of wild fruit resources, and the establishment of a Transnational Germplasm Resources Conservation Area of Wild Fruit Forest in Central Asia.

Restored Wild Fruit Forest landscape in Tianshan Mountains.