Environmental characteristics on habitats of Viola diamantiaca Nakai and its RAPD analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the environmental factors and conducted a RAPD analysis for a better understanding of the environmental characteristics and regional genetic variation in samples from 18 different areas of Viola diamantiaca. The habitats are mostly located on the slopes of mountains facing north at an altitude ranging from 614 m to 1,462 m above sea level with angles of inclination ranging from 3 degrees to 30 degrees. A total of 268 vascular plant taxa are identified in 35 quadrates of 18 habitats. The importance value of V. diamantiaca is 11.58%, and four highly ranked species, Sasa borealis (5.61%), Meehania urticifolia (5.21%), Ainsliaea acerifolia (3.62%), Pseudostellaria palibiniana (3.60%) are considered to have an affinity with V. diamantiaca in their habitats. The degree of their average species diversity is 1.36, while this metric for their evenness and dominance are 0.89 and 0.07, respectively. The average field capacity of the soil is 25.99%, with organic matter at 17.47%, and the pH is 5.19. The soil texture was confirmed as sandy loam of eleven and loam of seven. The result of the RAPD analysis, among 78 bands amplified with a primer, 64 (84.6%) showed polymorphism. Eighteen populations could be classified into five groups with similarity coefficient values ranging from 0.53 to 0.86. The Mt. Jiri population, which is geographically segregated, shows basal branching within the 18 populations. Five populations, including two in the southern district in Gangwon-do and three in Chungcheongbuk-do, form a distinct clade. Four populations in the central district of Gangwon-do and Mt. Bohyeon in the Gyeongsangbuk-do clade form a sister to the clade containing two populations in Gyeonggi-do and five populations of the northern district in Gangwon-do. The Mt. Gariwang population is placed between the southern district and the central district in the Gangwon-do clades.