Abstract
AimWuling Mountains range from the northeast to southwest in Central China, a region with high habitat complexity and diversity that supports substantial plant species diversity. Connecting the northern subtropics to the mid-subtropics, Wuling Mountains also link the floras of Eastern and South-Western China. Despite a long-standing interest in how important role Wuling Mountains play in species exchange, patterns of plant species diversity in Wuling and their underlying drivers are still not well characterized. Here, the spatial distribution of woody plant species in this region is described and the role the Wuling Mountains play in structuring biodiversity in surrounding areas is explored.LocationWuling Mountains and adjacent regions, China.MethodsDetailed distribution data for woody plant species in China were collected and mapped onto a raster grid of the Wuling Mountains and adjacent regions (a total of 820,000 km2) to analyze spatial patterns in species diversity, including α-diversity (species richness) and β-diversity (βsor). Unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) clustering was used to divide the study region based on species composition. Canonical redundancy analysis was used to illustrate spatial patterns and species-environment relationships.ResultsMountainous areas in the study region have high species richness as compared to other areas. Species exchanges occurred at a greater rate latitudinally vs. longitudinally, especially in Wuling Mountains. This suggests that Wuling Mountains may be an important ecological corridor for woody species, linking Northern and Southern Chinese floras. The study region was divided into six bioregions based on species composition: the Wuling Mountains Region, Nanling-Xuefengshan Mountains Region, Qinling-Dabashan Mountains Region, Sichuan Basin Region, Yangtze Plain Region and Yungui Plateau Region.Main ConclusionsThe Wuling Mountains Region acts as an ecological corridor for woody species, linking Northern and Southern China, and fostering biodiversity exchange and conservation in Central China.
Highlights
How species richness is distributed and the implications of richness patterns for biodiversity conservation have received long-standing interest in ecology and biogeography (Currie and Paquin, 1987; Gaston, 2000; Kreft and Jetz, 2007)
Such gradients were described for Central China; the most striking feature of how biodiversity was distributed in this region is that woody plant diversity was disproportionately concentrated in the mountains, consistent with previous studies (Wang et al, 2012; Antonelli et al, 2018; Rahbek et al, 2019; Zhou et al, 2021)
Plant species diversity was higher in mountainous areas than on the plains (Yangtze Plain) or in basins (Sichuan Basin), consistent with an earlier study based on a county-level species distribution database for China (Tang et al, 2006)
Summary
How species richness is distributed and the implications of richness patterns for biodiversity conservation have received long-standing interest in ecology and biogeography (Currie and Paquin, 1987; Gaston, 2000; Kreft and Jetz, 2007). Regional climatic variation (Currie et al, 2004; Warren et al, 2005; O’Brien, 2006), geologic history (Ricklefs, 1987), land area (Chown and Gaston, 2000) and habitat heterogeneity (Kerr and Packer, 1997) have all been proposed to explain patterns in species richness. All three are located in the mountainous area of SouthCentral China Among these regions, the flora in Central China is the most representative of the Chinese flora overall, with high levels of endemism (Ying, 2001; Song et al, 2013); part of the North Temperate zone, Central China is known worldwide for its ancient, complex and rich temperate flora (Qi et al, 1995)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
