Research On Biota Geography Of Sphagnum Mire At Qizimei Mountains In Western Hubei Province,China

The sphagnum mire at Qizimei Mountains is located in the Xuan’en county which is the western part of Hubei Province, China with its total acreage of30.63hm2and its elevation of1650-1950m above sea level. The flora and fauna of sphagnum mire at Qizimei Mountains was studied and analyzed in this research. Based on the comprehensive investigations and literature data, adopting the theories and methods of the related disciplines such as Taxonomic, Phytogeography, Zoogeography, Ecology, etc., this thesis studied the characteristics of biota in sphagnum mire at Qizimei Mountains, from aspects like the biota composition, nature, geographical correlations, zoning, etc. This study not only provides necessary information for the monitoring and management of the biological resources at the sphagnum mire of Qizimei Mountains, but also offers a scientific basis to exploring the characteristics of biota in the subtropical sphagnum mires. The main results are given as follows:(1)the biota composition is richThere are67families,128genera and196species (including varieties) of higher plants, and16orders,39families,59genera,68species of terrestrial vertebrates. Among them, the bryophyte have2families,2genera and2species, the pteridophyte have6families,7genera and8species, the spermatophyte have59families,119genera and186species. And the amphibians have2orders,5families,5genera and8species, the reptiles have1orders,2families,4genera and5species, the birds have9orders,24families,40genera and45species, the beasts have4orders,8families,10genera and10species. Compared with small area scale of sphagnum mire at Qizimei Mountains, the biota composition is relatively rich. Some dominant species play an important role in the biota of sphagnum mire, such as Sphagnum palustre, Enkianthus chinesis, Rhododendron auriculatum, Sinarundinaria nitida, Jimcus setchuensis, Carex taliensis, Rana spinosa, Rana boulengeri, Elaphe carinata, Hirundo daurica, Urocissa erythrorhyncha.(2)the big families and the big genera are poor, the single-species families and the single-species genera have obvious advantagesAmong the59spermatophyte families there are2big families, Rosaceae and Caprifoliaceae, and24single-species families, among the119genera there are3big genera and83single-species genera. In terrestrial vertebrates, there are only one big family, and23single-species families. Among the59terrestrial vertebrates genera, there are no big genera and52single-species genera. The results show that the big families and the big genera are poor and the characters of biota that concentrates toward the single-species families and the single-species genera.(3)the geographical elements of the biota are comparatively complexThe59famil ies of spermatophyte can be divided into6distribution types and3subtypes; genera11distribution types and6subtypes. The typical families of terrestrial vertebrates can be divided into6distribution types, which include both the north and the south. Besides species which are not easily to classifiable, others are divided into6distribution types. There are not only Palaerctic type and Northeast type, but also Oriental type, South China type and Himalayas-Hengduan Mountains type, or even Monsoon type. Different biota geographical elements permeate mutually in sphagnum mire at Qizimei Mountains, which fully shows its complicacy.(4)the endemic groups are relatively poorIn higher plants, there is no Chinese endemic families and only one Chinese endemic genera. In terrestrial vertebrates, there are11Chinese endemic species which accounting for16.18%. In view of distribution of Chinese endemic families, genera and species composition, the endemic groups are relatively poor.(5)the biota nature has transitional characteristic Among various geographical elements of seed plants in sphagnum mire at Qizimei Mountains,15families are tropic character and19families are temperate character from the level of families; there are21genera belong to tropic character and78genera belong to temperate character. The terrestrial vertebrates are composed of Oriental species, Palaearctic species and widespread species, of which Oriental species constitute the majority. Among fauna, the typical families are composed primarily of south subtropical, only a few groups of north. The geographical elements of family are mainly widespread types, and show the subtropical characteristics obviously. Species level statistics show that there are not only north type which accounts for10.30%of the total, but also south type which accounts for70.58%of the total. Among the south types, the Oriental type, South China type and Himalayas-Hengduan Mountains type account for35.29%,23.53%,11.76%of the total species. Above all, the flora of the sphagnum mire at Qizimei Mountains possesses temperate characteristic, and it is characterized by its shifting from the subtropics to the warm temperate. The fauna possesses subtropics characteristic, the existence of the north type shows that the geographical elements are of transition characteristics.