Quantitative assessment on endangerment degree of rare animal and plant species in Tibet, China

Abstract

It is of profound theoretical and practical significance to study endangerment status of rare species in Tibet. Index system is firstly set down for quantitative assessment of rare animal and plant species, then endangerment degree of wildlife under special state protection are calculated, which is expressed by value E. The results reveal that Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) and Gigantic Cypress (Cupressus gigantea) have the highest E respectively in animals and plants. According to value E, all species are categorized into 4 ranks: critically endangered (0.6–0.8), endangered (0.4–0.6), vulnerable (0.2–0.4) and lower risk (E ⩽ 0.2). By comparison of the first five animals and plants of the highest E, each sub-ecozone bears a distinct identity.