Seeds Of Plant Species Research Articles

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.

Seed Plant Species Diversity and Conservation in the Northern Gaoligong Mountains in Western Yunnan, China

Plant species diversity was surveyed in the northern Gaoligong Mountains of western Yunnan, China, from 1990 to 2006. During the floristic surveys of seed plants, 2514 native species and 302 varieties (or subspecies) belonging to 778 genera in 171 families were recorded. We also found that 12 families are endemic to eastern Asia, 14 genera and 1232 taxa are endemic to China, and 132 taxa are endemic to the northern Gaoligong Mountains. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Categories and Criteria, 25 threatened taxa identified in the survey are endemic to this region. The flora is rich because of the role the northern Gaoligong Mountains played as a center of species diversification during the uplift of the eastern rim of the Tibetan Plateau in the Quaternary and as a refuge during the last glacial maximum. Unfortunately, this biodiversity faces massive threats because of the combined effect of habitat destruction or fragmentation and overexploitation of natural resources. Taking into consideration that human population growth will further increase pressure on this biodiversity in the near future, we suggest that conservation priority be given to the endemic plants, as well as to the habitats of primarily evergreen broad-leaved forest, coniferous broad-leaved mixed forest, and alpine shrub and meadows.

Features and distribution patterns of Chinese endemic seed plant species

Abstract We compiled and identified a list of Chinese endemic seed plant species based on a large number of published references and expert reviews. The characters of these seed plant species and their distribution patterns were described at length. China is rich in endemic seed plants, with a total of 14 939 species (accounting for 52.1% of its total seed plant species) belonging to 1584 genera and 191 families. Temperate families and genera have a significantly higher proportion of endemism than cosmopolitan and tropical ones. The most primitive and derived groups have significantly higher endemism than the other groups. The endemism of tree, shrub, and liana or vine is higher than that of total species; in contrast, the endemism of herb is lower than that of total species. Geographically, these Chinese endemic plants are mainly distributed in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, southwest China. Species richness and proportion of these endemic plants decrease with increased latitude and have a unimodal response to altitude. The peak value of proportion of endemism is at higher altitudes than that of total species and endemic species richness. The proportions of endemic shrub, liana or vine, and herb increase with altitude and have a clear unimodal curve. In contrast, the proportion of tree increases with altitude, with a sudden increase at ∼4000 m and has a completely different model. To date, our study provides the most comprehensive list of Chinese endemic seed plant species and their basic composition and distribution features.

Understanding angiosperm diversification using small and large phylogenetic trees

How will the emerging possibility of inferring ultra-large phylogenies influence our ability to identify shifts in diversification rate? For several large angiosperm clades (Angiospermae, Monocotyledonae, Orchidaceae, Poaceae, Eudicotyledonae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae), we explore this issue by contrasting two approaches: (1) using small backbone trees with an inferred number of extant species assigned to each terminal clade and (2) using a mega-phylogeny of 55473 seed plant species represented in GenBank. The mega-phylogeny approach assumes that the sample of species in GenBank is at least roughly proportional to the actual species diversity of different lineages, as appears to be the case for many major angiosperm lineages. Using both approaches, we found that diversification rate shifts are not directly associated with the major named clades examined here, with the sole exception of Fabaceae in the GenBank mega-phylogeny. These agreements are encouraging and may support a generality about angiosperm evolution: major shifts in diversification may not be directly associated with major named clades, but rather with clades that are nested not far within these groups. An alternative explanation is that there have been increased extinction rates in early-diverging lineages within these clades. Based on our mega-phylogeny, the shifts in diversification appear to be distributed quite evenly throughout the angiosperms. Mega-phylogenetic studies of diversification hold great promise for revealing new patterns, but we will need to focus more attention on properly specifying null expectation.

A brief history of conservation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

When Princess Augusta and Lord Bute, followed by Sir Joseph Banks and King George III, started gathering plants at Kew, conservation on the site can be said to have begun. Although the primary motive then was to assist the expansion of the British Empire and trade, rare plants were gathered and some became rare or extinct in the wild as their habitats were destroyed. The primary motive in the nineteenth century was not conservation, but the history of conservation at the Royal Gardens at Kew dates back to its very origins. Subsequent regimes at Kew maintained and added to the collections thereby adding to their conservation value. Many early collections are of species now listed within the IUCN categories of endangerment. Environmental awareness and concern had begun by the time that Professor Jack Heslop-Harrison became director and he was the first director actively to initiate specific conservation programmes such as seed banking and work on red data books. From then on conservation became an integral part of the work programme of Kew and the focus on conservation has increased with each subsequent director. This eventually led to the transformation of the embryonic seed banking activities into the Millennium Seed Bank, the largest and most important bank in the world for the conservation of the seeds of wild species. It currently holds just over ten percent of all seed plant species. Conservation at Kew over the past three decades has very much been a balance between ex situ work and in situ activities to help conservation in the overseas areas where Kew scientists have experience. Throughout the history of the gardens there has been a vital interest in economic botany that has developed from moving plants around the empire to much work on the sustainable use of plants and ecosystems thereby better equipping the institution to subsequently work on in situ conservation. Significant conservation activity at Kew has been possible because it is being supported by a solid research programme that includes such areas as systematics and molecular genetics and laboratories, a large herbarium and a large library. Kew has played an important role in stimulating conservation work elsewhere and such units as the Threatened Plants Unit of IUCN and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) have their roots in Kew. Among other important conservation initiatives have been the creation of a unit to work with the implementation of the CITES treaty on the trade of endangered plants and a legal unit to work on issues of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). There is no doubt that the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew is at the forefront of plant conservation.

Seed Plant Endemism on Hainan Island: A Framework for Conservation Actions

Hainan, the second largest island of China, has the most extensive and best preserved tropical forests of this country. A network of 68 protected areas (54 of them are terrestrial) provides in situ conservation for the unique ecosystems of the island. We: (1) discuss an updated check-list of seed-plant species that are endemic to Hainan, (2) evaluate the extent to which the endemic flora has been the subject of molecular studies, and (3) investigate the conservation status of these species. We recognize 397 endemic species on the island, 271 of which are reported in the protected areas, and 144 of which have been Red-Listed (85 assigned to the Critically Endangered (40) or Endangered (45) IUCN categories). The families with the highest number of endemics are Rubiaceae (33 species), Lauraceae (27 species), and Poaceae (26 species). The island has only seven endemic genera, all of which are unispecific. Compared with other tropical islands, Hainan has a low number of endemics but our preliminary observations suggest that the island has a highly disharmonic flora when compared with that from the mainland. Nevertheless, most of the major clades of the seed-plant tree of life with representatives in China also have endemic species on the island. We argue that the low levels of endemism reflect the continental nature of Hainan and the fact that several areas of the island have not been fully inventoried. We were unable to find a single molecular systematic study focusing exclusively on the Hainan endemics; however, 24 of the endemic species have been included in phylogenetic studies targeting particular genera or families. Future research/conservation actions for the endemic flora of Hainan should focus in developing: (1) a red-list that assesses all 397 endemic species, (2) comprehensive floristic studies for the protected areas, (3) molecular phylogenetic and conservation genetic studies with a primary focus on the endemics, (4) studies to understand what ecological interactions are important in the biology of the endemic species, and (5) eco-geographical studies to identify Important Biodiversity Zones of endemism within Hainan and therefore potential new protected areas.

Breeding systems and phylogenetic diversity of seed plants along a large‐scale elevational gradient

AbstractAim The factors affecting the distribution of dioecious species have received surprisingly little attention and, as a consequence, are poorly understood. For example, there is a well‐documented negative association between dioecy and latitude, for which we have no candidate mechanisms. Conversely, it has been suggested that the relative proportion of dioecious species should be positively correlated with changes in elevation.Location Costa Rica, Central America.Methods We made use of data on the distribution of 175 seed plant species from a series of plots along a transect in Costa Rica that ranged from 30 to 2600 m a.s.l. to test the prediction that dioecy is correlated with elevation. Specifically, we examined relationships between the proportion of dioecy, at the species and individual levels, and the elevation, species richness, number of individuals, and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of plots. For comparison, we repeated all analyses with monoecious species, which also have unisexual flowers but do not suffer from reduced mate assurance and the seed shadow effect that may be the outcomes of having spatially separated sexes.Results The relative proportions of dioecious species and individuals displayed a unimodal relationship with elevation, both peaking at 750 m a.s.l. In contrast, the relative proportions of monoecious species and individuals displayed negative associations with elevation. In addition, the proportion of dioecious species was significantly positively associated with species richness and with the PD of plots. The proportion of monoecious species was not associated with species richness and was weakly positively associated with the PD of plots.Main conclusions Our results suggest that the selection pressure of elevation on the pollinators and life‐history strategy of dioecious species is much less than expected, and is overshadowed by the as‐yet unexplained correlation of dioecy with species richness. Additional studies of the ecology of cosexual and unisexual (i.e. dioecious and monoecious) species along large environmental gradients are needed.

Plantminer: A web tool for checking and gathering plant species taxonomic information

Plantminer is a web tool designed to reduce the effort of compiling, checking, and formatting seed plants species data. It will search for orders, families, authors, synonyms, and make sure that all species in a plant species list exist or are correctly spelled. Plantminer also compares species in pairs, removing duplicated entries, warning the user when there are synonyms in the submitted list, and replacing them by the currently accepted names. The output is compiled in tab-delimited text files, which are compatible with most statistical packages. Plantminer covers seed plant species on a global basis.

The Tropical Flora of Southern Yunnan, China, and Its Biogeographic Affinities1

The flora of Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan, southwestern China, consists of 3340 native seed plant species belonging to 1176 genera and 182 families. Tropical floristic elements at the generic level form a major contribution (78.3%) to the total flora of southern Yunnan, of which the dominant geographic elements are those of tropical Asian distribution. The tropical Asian flora of Xishuangbanna is similar in composition to other tropical floras from Yunnan, especially in the families with the most species richness. These regional floras have similarities of more than 89% at the family level and more than 76% at the generic level, but share only 43%–50% similarity at the specific level. Comparison with mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand) and Malesia (Malay Peninsula) floras reveals that most of the dominant families from southern Yunnan are also dominant in mainland Southeast Asian and Malesian floras. The floristic similarities between the flora of southern Yunnan and those of tropical Asia are more than 80% at the family level and more than 64% at the generic level. This suggests that the tropical flora of southern Yunnan has a close affinity with tropical Asian flora and supports the idea that the flora of southern Yunnan, together with mainland Southeast Asian flora, belongs to the Indo-Malaysian floristic subkingdom of the Paleotropical kingdom as suggested by Takhtajan, or the Malaysian subkingdom of the Paleotropical kingdom as suggested by Wu and Wu. However, situated at the northern margin of tropical Asia, the flora of southern Yunnan comprises less strictly tropical elements compared to Malaysian flora and, consequently, represents only a marginal type of Indo-Malaysian flora. The tropical flora of southern Yunnan is supposed to be derived from tropical Asian flora with the formation of the eastern monsoon climate after the Tertiary.

Relative rates of synonymous substitutions in the mitochondrial, chloroplast and nuclear genomes of seed plants

Previous studies have estimated that, in angiosperms, the synonymous substitution rate of chloroplast genes is three times higher than that of mitochondrial genes and that of nuclear genes is twelve times higher than that of mitochondrial genes. Here we used 12 genes in 27 seed plant species to investigate whether these relative rates of substitutions are common to diverse seed plant groups. We find that the overall relative rate of synonymous substitutions of mitochondrial, chloroplast and nuclear genes of all seed plants is 1:3:10, that these ratios are 1:2:4 in gymnosperms but 1:3:16 in angiosperms and that they go up to 1:3:20 in basal angiosperms. Our results show that the mitochondrial, chloroplast and nuclear genomes of seed plant groups have different synonymous substitutions rates, that these rates are different in different seed plant groups and that gymnosperms have smaller ratios than angiosperms.

A comparative study on endangered seed plant species between China and Japan

Categories and criteria established by the IUCN for globally endangered species have been used by many countries for conservation decision making. Based on geographical distributions and the Red List of China and Red List of Japan, we compared the current status of threatened plants and the floristic composi- tion of the two countries. We highlight our results as follows: (1) the proportion of wild seed plants found on the Red List to total seed plant species was lower in China than in Japan, but the degree of threat for gymno- sperms was higher in China than in Japan; (2) several hydrophyte families were not listed on the Red List of China, but have been severely threatened in Japan; (3) the number of cosmopolitan genera endangered in China was fewer than in Japan; and (4) among species threatened in both China and Japan, there was a large proportion of common species, sister species, and closely related species. Finally, we suggest that: (1) a comprehensive evaluation of the status of hydrophytes in China; (2) an increased effort to study species common to China and Japan; and (3) following the example of Japan, a thorough investigation should be conducted at the plant community level in China to complement the Red List.

Climatic control of plant species richness along elevation gradients in the Longitudinal Range-Gorge Region

To explore the elevation gradients in species richness in the Longitudinal Range-Gorge Region (LRGR) and evaluate how climatic variables and area may explain the patterns of species richness, 5 mountains are selected. According to the elevation dimensional gradients of the mountains, species richness, the values of area and climatic variables are calculated in each 100 m zone. The relationships between seed plant species richness and climatic variables and area along elevation gradients are analyzed. The results have shown that: (1) Elevational patterns of species richness are not uniform and can be divided in to two types. The values of species richness are higher in the lowlands and then decrease monotonically with increasing elevation in the tropical mountains. Species richness has unimodal patterns with a bias towards high values in the lower half of the elevation gradients in the subtropical mountains. (2) The patterns of species density are the same as that in species richness along elevation gradients. (3) Among the climate variables, actual evapotranspiration (AET) as a measurement of water-energy balance has strong relationships with species richness. The decline in species richness is due to the higher temperature and less precipitation in the lowlands of the subtropical mountains.

Hydrologic Impacts of Mechanical Seeding Treatments on Sagebrush Rangelands

In and around the Great Basin, United States, restoration of shrub steppe vegetation is needed where rangelands are transitioning to annual grasslands. Mechanical seedbed preparation can aid native species recovery by reducing annual grass competition. This study was designed to investigate the nature and persistence of hydrologic and erosion impacts caused by different mechanical rangeland seeding treatments and to identify interactions between such impacts and related soil and vegetation properties. A cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.)–dominated site was burned and seeded with native grasses and shrubs in the fall of the year. An Amazon-drill and a disk-chain seeder were used to provide varying levels of surface soil disturbance. An undisturbed broadcast seeding was used as a control. Simulated rainfall was applied to 6 large (32.5-m2) plots per treatment over 3 growing seasons at a rate of 63.5 mm · h-1. Rainfall was applied for 60 minutes under dry antecedent moisture conditions and for 30 minutes, 24 hours later under wet antecedent moisture conditions. The disk-chain created the largest reduction in infiltration and increase in sediment yield, which lasted for 3 growing seasons posttreatment. The Amazon-drill had a lesser impact, which was insignificant after the second growing season posttreatment. Surface soil properties showed little correlation with treatment-induced hydrologic and erosion impacts. Hydrologic recovery was strongly correlated with litter dynamics. The seeding treatments were unsuccessful at establishing seeded plant species, and the site once again became dominated by cheatgrass. A continuous upward trend in biomass production and surface litter cover was observed for all treatments between the beginning and end of the study because of cheatgrass invasion. Although the initial goal of using mechanical seeding treatments to enhance recovery of native grass species failed, cheatgrass production provided sufficient biomass to rapidly replenish surface litter cover necessary for rapid hydrologic stability of the site. Adentro y alrededor de la Gran Cuenca, Estados Unidos, se necesita la restauración de la vegetación de estepa arbustiva, donde los pastizales son una transición a zacatales anuales. La preparación mecánica de la cama de siembra puede ayudar a la recuperación de las especies nativas al reducir la competencia de zacates anuales. Este estudio se diseño para investigar la naturaleza y persistencia de los impactos hidrológicos y de erosión causados por diferentes tratamientos mecánicos de siembra de pastizales y para identificar interacciones entre tales impactos y las propiedades relacionadas del suelo y vegetación. Un sitio dominado por “Cheatgrass” (Bromus tectorum L.) fue quemado y sembrado con zacates nativos y arbustos en el otoño. Se usaron una sembradora amazona y una de cadena y discos para crear diferentes niveles de disturbio en la superficie del suelo. Una siembra al voleo en un sitio sin disturbio se usó como control. Se aplicó lluvia simulada, a una tasa de 63.5 mm · h-1, en seis parcelas grandes por tratamiento a lo largo de tres estaciones de crecimiento. La lluvia se aplicó por 60 minutos bajo condiciones secas del suelo y por 30 minutos bajo condiciones húmedas del suelo. La sembradora de cadena y disco produjo la mayor reducción en la infiltración y aumentó la producción de sedimentos, efecto que duró las tres estaciones de crecimiento posteriores a la aplicación de los tratamientos. La sembradora amazona tuvo un impacto menor, el cual fue insignificante después de la segunda estación de crecimiento posterior a la aplicación del tratamiento. Las propiedades de la superficie del suelo mostraron una baja correlación con los impactos hidrológicos y de erosión inducidos por los tratamientos. La recuperación hidrológica estuvo altamente correlacionada con la dinámica del mantillo. Los tratamientos de siembra no fueron exitosos para el establecimiento de plantas de las especies usadas, y el sitio fue dominado nuevamente por el “Cheatgrass.” Se observó una tendencia ascendente continua en la producción de biomasas y la cobertura de mantillo de la superficie en todos los tratamientos entre el inicio y fin del estudio, a consecuencia de la invasión del “Cheatgrass.” Mientras que la meta inicial de usar tratamientos de siembra mecánica para mejorar la recuperación de las especies nativas fracasó, la producción del “Cheatgrass” suministró suficiente biomasa para reponer rápidamente la cobertura de mantillo de la superficie del suelo necesaria para una rápida estabilidad hidrológica del sitio.

Biological traits and feeding capacity of Agriotes larvae (Coleoptera: Elateridae): A trial of seed coating to control larval populations with the insecticide fipronil

Until recently, the chemical control of phytophagous larvae of the genus Agriotes was exclusively achieved through soil treatment with insecticides. Under such conditions, the larvae receive the active ingredient (a.i.) by integumental penetration whilst moving through the subsurface soil. The selectivity of such treatments is only based on the biochemical selectivity of the a.i. which is generally very low across soil invertebrates. More recent a.i.s from new chemical families such as fiprols show not only a new biochemical mode of action but also a particular mode of penetration which is restricted to the digestive pathway. This allows a new type of selectivity, based on penetration after feeding, when the a.i. is associated with food. We demonstrate that Agriotes species, which are important pests for several crops, feed almost exclusively on the seeds of plant species. This dietary selectivity is based on appetency, rather than attractivity. The appetent molecules are mostly present in the seed’s acetonic powders but there is also an effect of the small lipophilic molecules extracted by the solvent. Taking into account the meal size and the feeding behaviour of the larvae, we show that when an insecticide such as fipronil is associated with food as a seed coating, much lower amounts of a.i. are required than those necessary in a full-soil treatment. The theoretical basis of this treatment, and limits to control Agriotes populations by such seed coatings are discussed.

Limitations of Biodiversity Databases: Case Study on Seed‐Plant Diversity in Tenerife, Canary Islands

Databases on the distribution of species can be used to describe the geographic patterns of biodiversity. Nevertheless, they have limitations. We studied three of these limitations: (1) inadequacy of raw data to describe richness patterns due to sampling bias, (2) lack of survey effort assessment (and lack of exhaustiveness in compiling data about survey effort), and (3) lack of coverage of the geographic and environmental variations that affect the distribution of organisms. We used a biodiversity database (BIOTA-Canarias) to analyze richness data from a well-known group (seed plants) in an intensively surveyed area (Tenerife Island). Observed richness and survey effort were highly correlated. Species accumulation curves could not be used to determine survey effort because data digitalization was not exhaustive, so we identified well-sampled sites based on observed richness to sampling effort ratios. We also developed a predictive model based on the data from well-sampled sites and analyzed the origin of the geographic errors in the obtained extrapolation by means of a geographically constrained cross-validation. The spatial patterns of seed-plant species richness obtained from BIOTA-Canarias data were incomplete and biased. Therefore, some improvements are needed to use this database (and many others) in biodiversity studies. We propose a protocol that includes controls on data quality, improvements on data digitalization and survey design to improve data quality, and some alternative data analysis strategies that will provide a reliable picture of biodiversity patterns.

Endozoochory varies with ecological scale and context

Several studies on endozoochory have established large herbivores as important for seed dispersal, yet no studies have evaluated how endozoochory is dependent on ecological scale and context. Here we address effects of reindeer density on endozoochory in a hierarchical, multi‐scale study, encompassing several ecological contexts.We found reindeer density effects on endozoochory to vary with spatial scale. Higher reindeer densities at the level of landscape areas, as indexed through faeces abundance, were related to both less species and lower abundance of emerging plants from faeces. In contrast, there was no effect of higher reindeer densities at the level of herding districts (i.e. large scale assemblages of landscapes). Lack of consistency between scales reflects ecological hierarchy, indicating that reindeer density effects on endozoochory best matches at the scale of landscapes.Pasture seed plant composition was only partly an important ecological factor. That is, ericoid species, the dominating plants in the pastures, were also the most abundant seed plants found to emerge from the faeces. However, most herbaceous seed plant species in the pastures were not emerging from the faeces and the few that emerged were positively related to the site fertility and altitude of the pasture.Studies addressing endozoochory of ruminants are typically concerned with seed plants, whereas in this study we also found indications of that diaspores of ferns are viable after passing the digestive tract of large herbivores. Vascular spore plants were even more abundant in the faeces than were vascular seed plants.Results from this study demonstrate that reindeer may counteract a potentially negative impact on seed limitation from their grazing by returning viable seeds in their faeces. However, in Finnmark, northern Norway, this effect is only marginal, relates only to a very few species and individuals and shows ecological scale and context dependence.

Erratum

During the last two decades, there was considerable debate on the actual number of insect species on Earth, and current estimates range from 5 to 30 million species. For gall-inducing insects, a cosmopolitan group of specialist herbivores, the last, 40-yr-old estimate of global richness indicated 13,000 species, mostly from temperate regions. To update these estimates, we used 10 studies that provided the average number of gall-inducing insect species per plant species (galled and nongalled) in different vegetation types around the world, and a recent calculation of 422,000 seed plant species on Earth. Considering that most of the gall-inducing insects are monophagous, these data were extrapolated to the global flora, assuming a positive relationship between gall-inducing insect richness and plant richness. Estimates of the global richness of gall-inducing insects ranged from 21,000 to 211,000 species, with an average of 132,930 species. The global distribution pattern described for gall-inducing insects pointed to a higher richness in warm temperate regions with sclerophyllous vegetation. However, it is likely that the tropical rain forests would harbor a higher absolute number of gall-inducing insects, due to their outstanding plant richness. Most of this fauna will be found on the poorly explored canopies of rain forests, especially in the Neotropical region. An increased sampling effort in tropical regions should fill the taxonomy gap represented by gall-inducing insects and possibly change the biogeographic patterns described so far.

Geological History, Flora, and Vegetation of Xishuangbanna, Southern Yunnan, China1

ABSTRACTXishuangbanna of southern Yunnan is biogeographically located at a transitional zone from tropical Southeast (SE) Asia to subtropical East Asia, and is at the junction of the Indian and Burmese plates of Gondwana and the Eurasian plate of Laurasia. The flora of the region consists of a recorded 3336 native seed plant species, belonging to 1140 genera in 197 families, among which 83.5 percent are tropical genera and 32.8 percent are endemic to tropical Asia, suggesting a strong affinity to tropical Asian flora. The vegetation of Xishuangbanna is organized into four forest types: tropical rain forest, tropical seasonal moist forest, tropical montane evergreen broad‐leaved forest, and tropical monsoon forest. The tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna has the same floristic composition of families and genera as some lowland equatorial rain forests in SE Asia, and is dominated (with a few exceptions) by the same families both in species richness and stem dominance. The exceptions include some deciduous trees in the canopy layer, fewer megaphanerophytes and epiphytes, and a higher abundance of lianas and microphyllic plants. We consider the tropical rain forest of Xishuangbanna as a type of tropical Asian rain forest, based on their conspicuous similarities in ecological and floristic characteristics.

The revision of species‐rich genera: a phylogenetic framework for the strategic revision of Pilea (Urticaceae) based on cpDNA, nrDNA, and morphology

The revision of species-rich genera underpins research and supports the sustainable use and monitoring of biological diversity. One fifth to one quarter of the diversity of all seed plant species occurs in such genera, but difficulties with the revision of species-rich genera has resulted in many of them being ignored since the late 1800s. Pilea, with 600-715 species is in need of revision. The only realistic approach is in manageable subunits, which requires confirmation of monophyly and identification of monophyletic subdivisions. Parsimony analyses of trnL-F, ITS, and morphology data were used to test the monophyly of, and explore intrageneric relationships within, Pilea. Analysis of trnL-F data confirms and recovers two morphologically diagnosable monophyletic clades that include all of the taxa within Pilea. Overlaying geographic distribution on a most parsimonious tree indicates a strong association between geography and phylogenetic relatedness. It is suggested that a strategic revision within the framework of morphologically and geographically diagnosable units might enable the revision of the group using an iterative approach. Analysis of the outgroup taxa supports the inclusion of Poikilospermum within the Urticaceae and suggests that the Urticaceae tribes could be placed into two clades that are supported by floral morphology.

The endemic flora of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa

The Cape Peninsula is a well known area of exceptional plant diversity and endemism within the Cape Floristic Region, but an accurate and complete listing of the endemic seed plant species has been lacking. Here, we present a list of the 158 species and 3 subspecies that are currently regarded as Cape Peninsula endemics, with discussion on the profile of the endemic flora, plant hotspots within the area, and conservation issues. Endemics constitute 7% of the total Peninsula flora. 76% of the endemic species fall within only 10 families, with Erica being the genus with the greatest number of endemic species on the Peninsula (39). The Peninsula is identified as a centre of endemism for Roella, Tetraria, Serruria, and Muraltia. Many families are notably under-represented in terms of endemic species on the Peninsula, including Geraniaceae, Oxalidaceae, Thymelaeaceae, Apiaceae, Hyacinthaceae, Poaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rutaceae, Orchidaceae, and Asteraceae. 62% of the endemics are shrubs or dwarf shrubs. 41% of the endemics are currently Red Data Book listed, but the Table Mountain National Park conserves a large percentage of the montane habitat, as well as significant lowland habitat in the extreme south.