Plant Diversity In China Research Articles

Bioinformatics database and production layout visual analysis platform of medicinal plants:a case study of Dao-di medicinal materials in Sichuan province

In the new stage of trans-omics and trans-subjects for medicinal plants, it is an urgent need to integrate big data, provide interactive applications, and form a unified and multi-level research system and big data platform. Dao-di medicinal material, as an important source of medicinal plants, is a unique quality concept and comprehensive standard of tranditional Chinese medicine(TCM). Several databases have been developed in China and abroad, such as the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine(ETCM) and the Global Pharmacopoeia Genome Database(GPGD). Yet, most databases do not provide multi-dimensional data, including geographic data, phenotype data, compound data, and genetic data. Sichuan, known as the hometown of TCM therapies and the treasure trove of TCM, is the most representative region of medicinal plant diversity in China. According to the latest data of the fourth national survey of TCM resources, there are more than 8 000 TCM and 86 Dao-di medicinal materials in Sichuan province. Based on resource census data and relevant achievements, this study constructed the bioinformatics database of medicinal plants and the visual analysis platform of production layout by taking the Dao-di medicinal materials in Sichuan province as an example, covering geographic data, phenotype data, compound data, and genetic data. It effectively integrates multi-dimensional data of Dao-di medicinal materials and provides different levels of data interaction applications. The platform is the first large-scale multi-dimensional database and visual platform of Dao-di medicinal materials in Sichuan province, which serves as an essential resource for germplasm resources identification, decomposition of biosynthetic pathways, molecular breeding of varieties and provides medicinal plant resource information and data support for development and utilization of medicinal plants in China and abroad.

Identifying gaps in the ex situ conservation of native plant diversity in China

Due to intensified human pressure and climate change, ex situ conservation measures have become essential for conserving Earth's remaining biodiversity, but the development of targeted ex situ conservation strategies based on conservation gaps analysis is often a major challenge. Here, we used a dated phylogeny including 95.70 % of the Chinese vascular genera and 1,540,695 species distribution records to identify ex situ conservation gaps in the tree of life and geographic space in China. We found that at least 41.70 % (12,716 species) of all vascular plant species (30,494 species), including 49.31 % (1715 species) of Chinese endangered species, are conserved in the botanic gardens. The results show that most species in ex situ collections are from eastern China and have been housed in botanic gardens in this region, whereas several plant diversity hotpots in the southwestern and northwestern regions are not well represented in ex situ conservation; only 12.67 % of the collection capacity of the Chinese botanic gardens is allocated to endangered species; there are 18 phylogenetic clusters of genera absent from the ex situ collections and the missing species are mostly from alpine or desert, mainly distributed in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains and northern Xinjiang. Therefore, we suggest that more collection capacity of China be devoted to endangered species particularly in the southwestern and northwestern regions. Our study provides quantified resources of targeted inventory and area for future ex situ conservation in China, and a fundamental protocol to invest the future achievement of local or global ex situ conservation.

Geographic patterns and environmental correlates of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of aquatic plants in China

AbstractStudies on large‐scale geographic patterns of aquatic plant diversity can promote research on the generality of macroecological patterns in different ecosystems. Here, we compiled a checklist of 889 aquatic angiosperms in China, including 738 helophytes (emergent and marshy plants) and 151 hydrophytes (submerged, free‐floating, and floating‐leaved plants). We explore the geographic patterns and environmental correlates of aquatic plant diversity based on six metrics including species richness (SR), weighted endemism (WE), phylogenetic diversity (PD), phylogenetic endemism (PE), the standardized effect size of phylogenetic diversity (PDses), and the standardized effect size of mean phylogenetic distance (MPDses). Our results show that the diversity of aquatic plants in China is extremely uneven, with high diversity in southeastern China and low diversity in northwestern China, and the geographic patterns of taxonomic and PD are generally consistent. The pattern of helophytes differs from that of hydrophytes. Notably, the wavy‐shaped pattern of aquatic plant diversity (especially SR and PD for hydrophytes) across the latitude observed in this study is not consistent with those previously observed for aquatic plants in other continents. Climatic variables and water environmental variables are the main drivers of aquatic plant diversity in China; however, the effects of individual variables differ between helophytes and hydrophytes. Water environmental variables have a greater impact on PDses and MPDses of hydrophytes than those of helophytes. Overall, our work provides insight into understanding the large‐scale patterns of aquatic plant diversity and is a critical addition to previous studies on the macroecological pattern of terrestrial organisms.

Achieving carbon neutrality in China: Spectral clustering analysis of plant diversity

Plants have a long history and diverse species. They play a critical role in the ecological chain, human production and life. With a vast territory, China has rich plant species and complex geographical regions, and research on the distribution of plant diversity in China is significant for utilising, developing, and protecting biological resources. This study aimed to study plant diversity in China. It obtained the plant diversity distribution data in China, then analysed it via spectral clustering and visualised it via Echarts. It was found that Yunnan records the most considerable plant diversity, followed by Sichuan and Tibet, meaning that the Southwestern part of China has the most extensive plant diversity. While it is expected that Tibet and Yunnan have backward economic development and hence a lower level of human destruction on plant diversity, Sichuan’s economic development is quite good. The land of abundance still has a wide variety of plants owing to excellent irrigation projects since 256BC. Besides, the Hengduan Mountains were the main route for Chinese plants to migrate from the west to the east, which might be closely related to the Himalayan orogeny. The Himalayan orogeny promotes the formation of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, which is a vital factor in the biodiversity formation in China. This study provides a basis for China’s conservation and study and enhances our understanding of plant biodiversity. As plant biodiversity increases soil organic carbon storage, it offers insights into carbon neutrality practitioners and researchers.

Impacts of tree mixtures on understory plant diversity in China

Understory plants are one of the important components of forest biological diversity and play important roles in forest function. Although convincing evidence exists that mixed-species plantations are more conducive to increase the productivity and stability of forest ecosystems than monocultures, the effect of mixed-species plantations on the understory plant diversity (UPD) remains uncertain. This study conducted a meta-analysis based on 205 paired observations of plant species mixtures and corresponding monocultures from 76 peer-reviewed studies to assess the impact of tree mixtures on the UPD in China. The results showed that the UPD was on average 18.2 % higher in mixed-species plantations than in monocultures. This positive mixture effect increased over time, but it would take at least ten years for the effect size of UPD to change from negative to positive. In terms of different mixed forest types, tree-shrub mixtures were more beneficial to maintain the UPD than tree-tree mixtures, and this positive effect was more significant over time. In addition, the response ratio of UPD decreased with mean annual temperature (MAT) and precipitation (MAP), but this relationship was not significant. Therefore, our results suggested that planting mixed-species plantations was a more effective approach to enhance the UPD than monocultures in China. This study revealed the characteristics of UPD under different afforestation modes and could provide a scientific basis for forest management.

Assessing the performance of a citizen science project for monitoring urban woody plant species diversity in China

Citizen science has been increasingly used for monitoring urban biodiversity in North American and European cities. However, there is scant information about its applicability outside of these regions. In this study, we have set up a citizen science project to monitor urban woody plant diversity in China and evaluated the performance of the project. We analyzed the participants’ behavior and the quality of the collected data. In 12 months, 275 of 898 registered citizen scientists have contributed a total of 4674 valid checklists of urban woody plant species in 112 cities through a WeChat mini program called “Utrees” and a website with the same name. The mean number of monthly active participants was 33 (SD = 29), and the mean number of monthly submitted images of plants was 549 (SD = 592). The participants have tried to identify 60 % of submitted plant images, and 40 % of their identifications could match experts’ identifications. The mean identification accuracy by the citizen scientists was 31.3 % (SD = 34.9), which has been improved after adding an automatic plant image identification function to the mini program. While the participation and identification accuracy were lower than those reported by similar projects in North American and European cities, the data collected through the project are still useful in revealing woody plant diversity patterns in urban China. At the national level, the project has identified 557 woody plant species in China’s cities in one year, 21.2 % of the number of species reported in a list compiled from literature over 35 years. At the individual city level, the number of species recorded by the project in Beijing was three times more than the number reported in a recent field study. Our results proved that citizen science is a promising approach for monitoring urban biodiversity in China, but serious efforts are needed to engage the public to unlock the full potential of citizen science.

Roles of Dispersal Limit and Environmental Filtering in Shaping the Spatiotemporal Patterns of Invasive Alien Plant Diversity in China

Biological invasion pose a severe threat to global biodiversity, and studies of bioinvasion patterns and the underlying mechanisms provide critical tests to ecological theories. China is a global hotspot of biodiversity and also biological invasions. The understanding of mechanisms for bioinvasion patterns has been limited by inadequacy of data spatial resolution, and lack of a historical perspective. This study compiled the first nation-scale distribution data with a sub-provincial spatial unit (prefecture) for 463 invasive alien plants species (IAPS) recorded in China, as well as their introduction times. The spatiotemporal patterns of species richness of invasive alien plants, including three life forms (annual-biennial, perennial, and woody) were explored, then related the species richness patterns with environmental, social-economic and historical factors. Statistical analyses included quantile regression, generalized linear model (GLM), and hierarchical variation partitioning. The results indicated that: (1) herbaceous species comprised 84% of the 463 IAPS in China; (2) plant introductions into China accelerated since 1800, reaching the maximum rate during 1900–1940. IAPS richness had a closer correlation with the time of newest introduction (R2= 0.155) than with that of the oldest introduction (R2= 0.472); (3) IAPS richness decreases with increasing latitude (r= −0.32,P< 0.001) and decreases from the coastal and southern terrestrial borders to inland regions, but doesn’t increase with prefecture size. The three life forms of IAPS showed similar latitudinal patterns of species richness and divergent latitudinal patterns of species percentage. (4) IAPS richness showed significantly positive correlations with thermal climate and a negative relationship with climate seasonality. GLM explained up to 65% of the variation in spatial patterns of IAPS and three life forms; with much less variation explained in the species percentage patterns. The year of the most recent IAPS introduction and the low temperature limit jointly dominated spatial patterns of IAPS richness in China, whereas road density showed little effect. Therefore, global warming and economic globalization play a prominent role in promoting biological invasion in the last few decades, and will continue to drive the trend of plant invasion in China and probably elsewhere.

Habitat is more important than climate and animal richness at shaping latitudinal variation in plant diversity in China

Species data from 249 National Nature Reserves in China were used to identify potential underlying drivers of latitudinal gradients in plant diversity. We used generalized linear models to assess correlations between predictor and plant species richness. Variance partitioning was then used to decompose the variation in plant richness into different taxonomic levels among the three groups of predictors (i.e., climate, habitat and animal). We found that species richness showed significant latitudinal trends in richness (p < 0.001). This remained true when examining gymnosperms, angiosperms and ferns individually. Climate and habitat variables explained more variation in richness across different plant groups than did animal richness. Annual precipitation was the best climate variable across different taxonomic plants groups, and soil pH and elevation range were the best habitat variables across different taxonomic plant groups. The independent effects of habitat variables were higher than that of climate and animal variables across different taxonomic plant groups. Finally, climate, habitat heterogeneity, and animal richness explain 48.8% of the variation in total species richness, 28.2% in gymnosperm richness, 44.2% in angiosperm richness, and 38.9% in fern richness.

Effects of grazing exclusion on carbon sequestration and plant diversity in grasslands of China—A meta-analysis

Widespread land degradation has strengthened the urgent need to restore overgrazing grasslands. China has implemented the program ‘Returning Grazing Land to Grassland’ (RGLG) through grazing exclusion by fence since 2003. Despite a lot of field experiments, there is still controversy on the effects of grazing exclusion on rangeland restoration, highlighting the need for synthetic analysis. We conducted a meta-analysis of 447 entries from 78 papers to analyze the spatiotemporal effects of grazing exclusion on plant diversity, productivity and soil carbon sequestration in the major RGLG-implemented provinces of China. Our results showed that, compared with the grazed sites, grazing exclusion significantly increased carbon stored in aboveground biomass, litter mass, belowground biomass and soils by 84.7%, 111.6%, 25.5% and 14.4%, respectively. Plant coverage, soil available nitrogen, soil available phosphorus and soil microbial biomass carbon increased by 52.0%, 21.7% 22.8% and 26.3%, respectively. However, grazing exclusion had little effects on recovering plant diversity in China’s grasslands. Of the factors examined, climatic factors strongly modified the effects of grazing exclusion on ecosystem carbon stocks, for example, precipitation significantly amplified the positive effects. Grazing exclusion played a positive role in soil carbon sequestration in most grassland types except in temperate desert-steppe. But annual soil carbon sequestration rates decayed rapidly over time in both alpine meadow and temperate steppe. Short-term (≤5years) grazing exclusion remarkably increased species richness, but not significantly in the long run. The threshold from neutral to negative effects of grazing exclusion on species evenness occurs after approximately ten years. Our findings provide evidence that grazing exclusion is an effective way to restore vegetation and sequestrate carbon in degraded grasslands, but not beneficial to plant diversity maintenance. The benefits of grazing exclusion are more effective in humid area than arid area. We suggest that grazing exclusion should be ceased after about six to ten years. Additionally, grazing exclusion should integrate with other appropriate management practices instead of operating on a stand-alone basis.

Overview of higher plant diversity in China

Overview of higher plant diversity in China

Phylogeographic studies of plants in China: Advances in the past and directions in the future

Abstract Phylogeography has been one major focus of evolutionary biology in recent years, with many important advances in Chinese species. In this issue, we collected 11 phylogeographic studies of plants by Chinese laboratories. We further synthesized the main findings and patterns emerging from these and previous phylogeographic studies in China and asked where phylogeographic research should be directed in the coming years. Numerous examples have shown that phylogeographic patterns in China did not show an expected expansion–contraction pattern at large scale, mirroring the geological records showing that no unified ice sheet had developed in China during the Quaternary Period. Instead, regional expansions and intraspecific divergences are very common in most studied species during the Quaternary oscillations. Different intraspecific lineages or alleles (haplotypes) were detected in multiple localized refugia, from where regional or local expansions are likely to have started. Hybridizations and introgressions are frequent between intraspecific lineages or between different species. We also reviewed computational methods for phylogeographic analyses. Despite the great progress made in recent years, there remains much to discover about the spatial–temporal dimensions and underlying speciation mechanisms of Chinese plants. Phylogeographic studies represent a key knot that connects the genus phylogeny (macroevolution) and speciation and adaptation (microevolution). Therefore, we advocate that: (i) phylogeographic studies of plants in China should be directed to the closely related species or a monophyletic group (for example, a genus or a section) in the coming years; and (ii) population genetic data based on direct sequencing multiple loci, especially those from nuclear genome and statistical tests should be widely adopted and enforced. The recovered intraspecific divergences and phylogeographic patterns of multiple‐species may allow us to better understand the high plant diversity in China and set up concrete hypotheses for studying plant speciation and diversification mechanisms in this region.

Identifying hotspots of endemic woody seed plant diversity in China

AbstractAim This study aimed to detect distribution patterns and identify diversity hotspots for Chinese endemic woody seed plant species (CEWSPS).Location China.Methods Presence of 6885 CEWSPS throughout China was mapped by taking the Chinese administrative county as the basic spatial analysis unit. The diversity was measured with five indices: endemic richness (ER), weighted endemism (WE), phylogenetic diversity (PD), phylogenetic endemism (PE) and biogeographically weighted evolutionary distinctiveness (BED). Three levels of area (i.e. 1, 5 and 10% of China’s total land area) were used to identify hotspots, but the 5% level was preferred when both the total area of the hotspots identified and the diversity of CEWSPS reached by the hotspots were considered.Results Distribution patterns of CEWSPS calculated with the five indices are consistent with each other over the national extent. However, the hotspots do not show a high degree of consistency among the results derived from the five indices. Those identified with ER and PD are very similar, and so are those with WE and BED. In total, 20 hotspots covering 7.9% of China’s total land area were identified, among which 11 were identified with all the five indices, including the Hengduan Mountains, Xishuangbanna Region, Hainan Island, and eight mountainous areas located in east Chongqing and west Hubei, in east Yunnan and west Guangxi, in north Guangxi, south‐east Guizhou and south‐west Hunan, in north Guangdong and south Hunan, in south‐east Tibet, and in south‐east Hubei and north‐west Jiangxi. Taiwan Island was also identified as a major hotspot with WE, PE and BED.Main conclusions Hotspots of CEWSPS were identified with five indices considering both distributional and phylogenetic information. They cover most of the key areas of biodiversity defined by previous researchers using other approaches. This further verifies the importance of these areas for China’s biodiversity conservation.

Plant diversity and conservation in China: planning a strategic bioresource for a sustainable future

China is one of the richest countries for plant diversity with approximately 33 000 vascular plant species, ranking second in the world. However, the plant diversity in China is increasingly threatened, with an estimated 4000–5000 plant species being threatened or on the verge of extinction, making China, proportionally, one of the highest priorities for global plant biodiversity conservation. Coming in the face of the current ecological crisis, it is timely that China has launched China's Strategy for Plant Conservation (CSPC). China has increasingly recognized the importance of plant diversity in efforts to conserve and sustainably use its plant diversity. More than 3000 nature reserves have been established, covering approximately 16% of the land surface of China. These natural reserves play important roles in plant conservation, covering more than 85% of types of terrestrial natural ecosystems, 40% of types of natural wetlands, 20% of native forests and 65% of natural communities of vascular plants. Meanwhile, the flora conserved in botanical gardens is also extensive. A recent survey shows that the 10 largest botanical gardens have living collections of 43 502 taxa, with a total of 24 667 species in ex situ conservation. These provide an important reserve of plant resources for sustainable economic and social development in China. Plant diversity is the basis for bioresources and sustainable utilization. The 21st century is predicted to be an era of bio-economy driven by advances of bioscience and biotechnology. Bio-economy may become the fourth economy form after agricultural, industrial, and information and information technology economies, having far-reaching impacts on sustainable development in agriculture, forestry, environmental protection, light industry, food supply and health care and other micro-economy aspects. Thus, a strategic and forward vision for conservation of plant diversity and sustainable use of plant resources in the 21st century is of far-reaching significance for sustainable development of Chinese economy and society.

Patterns, determinants and models of woody plant diversity in China

What determines large-scale patterns of species richness remains one of the most controversial issues in ecology. Using the distribution maps of 11 405 woody species in China, we compared the effects of habitat heterogeneity, human activities and different aspects of climate, particularly environmental energy, water-energy dynamics and winter frost, and explored how biogeographic affinities (tropical versus temperate) influence richness-climate relationships. We found that the species richness of trees, shrubs, lianas and all woody plants strongly correlated with each other, and more strongly correlated with the species richness of tropical affinity than with that of temperate affinity. The mean temperature of the coldest quarter was the strongest predictor of species richness, and its explanatory power for species richness was significantly higher for tropical affinity than for temperate affinity. These results suggest that the patterns of woody species richness mainly result from the increasing intensity of frost filtering for tropical species from the equator/lowlands towards the poles/highlands, and hence support the freezing-tolerance hypothesis. A model based on these results was developed, which explained 76-85% of species richness variation in China, and reasonably predicted the species richness of woody plants in North America and the Northern Hemisphere.

Conservation of plant diversity in China: achievements, prospects and concerns

China abounds with plant germplasm resources, and its conservation work, both in situ and ex situ, has advanced rapidly since 1978. We give a brief account of the development and management of nature reserves, natural parks, botanical gardens and crop genebanks in China. We also outline some of the losses of crop cultivars and continuing threats to the diversity of natural vegetation through the large-scale felling of forests and overgrazing of grasslands with ensuing erosion and desertification in some areas. The continual losses of plant germplasm resources and vegetation is cause for concern, and some effective measures have been taken by the government and people in recent years.