Distribution, congruence and hotspots of higher plants in China

Abstract

Identifying biodiversity hotspots has become a central issue in setting up priority protection areas, especially as financial resources for biological diversity conservation are limited. Taking China’s Higher Plants Red List (CHPRL), including Bryophytes, Ferns, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms, as the data source, we analyzed the geographic patterns of species richness, endemism, and endangerment via data processing at a fine grid-scale with an average edge length of 30 km based on three aspects of richness information: species richness, endemic species richness, and threatened species richness. We sought to test the accuracy of hotspots used in identifying conservation priorities with regard to higher plants. Next, we tested the congruence of the three aspects and made a comparison of the similarities and differences between the hotspots described in this paper and those in previous studies. We found that over 90% of threatened species in China are concentrated. While a high spatial congruence is observed among the three measures, there is a low congruence between two different sets of hotspots. Our results suggest that biodiversity information should be considered when identifying biological hotspots. Other factors, such as scales, should be included as well to develop biodiversity conservation plans in accordance with the region’s specific conditions.

Contribution of rare and common species to subterranean species richness patterns

“…First, preserving ecosystem functions (Harvey, Gounand, Ward, & Altermatt, ) requires additional understanding what role in ecosystems play rare and common species, as well understanding interactions between different taxa (e.g., beetles from families Leiodidae vs. Carabidae) and ecological groups (e.g., aquatic vs. terrestrial). Second, an optimal conservation strategy should incorporate all available information into an analytic framework that will, in addition to species richness consider alternative metrics of biodiversity, such as rarity, weighted endemism, β diversity, and their relation to threat (Crain & Tremblay, ; Myers, Mittermeier, Mittermeier, da Fonseca, & Kent, ; Yu et al, ; Zhao, Li, Liu, & Qin, ). This analytic framework based on multiple criteria would possible consider common species, and not only rare species, in conservation planning of subterranean habitats.…”

“…Second, an optimal conservation strategy should incorporate all available information into an analytic framework that will, in addition to species richness consider alternative metrics of biodiversity, such as rarity, weighted endemism, β diversity, and their relation to threat (Crain & Tremblay, 2014;Myers, Mittermeier, Mittermeier, da Fonseca, & Kent, 2000;Yu et al, 2017;Zhao, Li, Liu, & Qin, 2016).…”

Diversity and distribution of parasitic angiosperms in China

“…Such a climate and geographic diversity may result in a wide range of habitats and facilitate local species differentiation, giving rise to endemism (Huang, Ma, & Huang, ; Wen et al., ). For example, the high species richness of the genus Pedicularis (including 441 herbaceous species and 89 subspecies or variants) in China (Wu et al., 1994–2012) has been frequently attributed to the extremely high topographic heterogeneity, mainly resulting from the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, in the southwest mountainous areas (Zhao et al., ).…”

“…China's territory stretches 5,200 km from east to west and 5,500 km from south to north (ECCPG, ), ranging between tropical, subtropical, warm‐temperate, temperate, and cold‐temperate biome. Because of a wide range of climate, combined with highly complex topography and wide range of habitats, China has a tremendous diversity of plant and animal species (Wu, ; Zhang, ,b), with a recent record of ~34,450 indigenous higher plant species (Zhao, Li, Liu, & Qin, ). Assuming that parasite species richness is proportional to host species diversity, we may speculate that the spatial pattern of parasite species richness is similar to the general pattern of Chinese plant diversity.…”

Exploring the different facets of plant endemism in the South-Eastern Carpathians: a manifold approach for the determination of biotic elements, centres and areas of endemism

“…Laffan & Crisp (2003) described centres of endemism (CoE) as hotspots of richness in range-restricted taxa. It is accepted that endemism is highly indicative for assigning priorities in conservation of important plant areas (Zhao et al, 2016). In this context, we analyzed the diversity patterns by employing two different measures: species richness (SR) and weighted endemism (WE) (Crisp et al, 2001;Kier et al, 2009;Mr az et al, 2016).…”