The Diversity Of Bryophytes In Zhenjiang, Changzhou And The Comparison With Its Neighboring Areas In The Yangtze River Delta

Zhenjiang and Changzhou are important cities of the Yangtze River Delta, but there is no special research in relation to biodiversity and ecology of bryophytes in the two cities. Based on ecological investigation and specimen collection, the flora and ecology of bryophytes in Zhengjiang and Changzhou were systematically studied for the first time by using the method of quantitative ecology, and Arcgis. The main results are as follows:1. A total of 115 bryophyte species belonging to 62 genera and 29 families in Zhengjiang were first reported. Of these, 7 species, belonging to 6 genera and 5 families, are liverworts, 108 species, belonging to 56 genera and 24 families, are mosses. In Changzhou, 92 bryophyte species belonging to 24 families and 55 genera were recorded. Among these 92 species are six liverwort species (belonging to 5 families and 6 genera) and 86 moss species (belonging to 19 families and 49 genera). The characteristics of the habitat and dominant families, genera, species were also analyzed. The dominant families include Pottiaceae, Brachytheciaceae, Hypnaceae, Bryaceae and Thuidiaceae. The dominant families of the two cities are similar.2. The bryoflora in Zhengjiang and Changzhou could be divided into ten geographical elements, respectively. Of those, 34.78% species belong to East Asian elements, 21.74% species are temperate elements, and 27.17% are World wide distribution. The bryoflora in Zhengjiang and Changzhou is of typical East Asian and obvious temperate distribution. It implied that the bryoflora of Zhengjiang and Changzhou had a transitional characteristic from subtropic elements to northern temperate elements.3. The coverage, frequency of bryophytes, and their environmental factors in 15 sites and 425 samples in Zhengjiang were investigated, and 85 species, 48 genera, and 23 families were recorded from these samples. Among them are six liverwort species (belonging to 6 genera and 5 families) and 79 moss species (belonging to 42 genera and 18 families). The method of Canonical Correspondence Analysis was applied to study the relationships of bryophyte distribution with their environmental factors, the rseult showed that soil matrix, soil thickness on stones, and moisture of samples have important impacts on bryophytes distribution. Compared with moss species living on soil, the influences of human disturbance on the distribution of saxicolous bryophytes is stronger than on soil bryophytes in Baohuashan Reserve, Jiangsu Province.4. Based on previous literature and our present researches on the bryophytes in 11 major cities of Yangtze River Delta (including Zhengjiang, Changzhou, Shanghai, Huzhou, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Yancheng, Lianyungang, Suqian, Huaian, Xuzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Nanjing), a total of 539 bryophyte species (belonging to 65 families) were recorded. Among them are 85 liverwort species (belong to 27 families) and 454 moss species (belong to 38 families). There are 16 families with more than 10 species. Pottiaceae (including 73 species) are the major family in the 16 cities, the second is Brachytheciaceae(54 species), the third is Bryaceae(44 species). By using ArcGis analysis system, we produced the distribution maps in relation to acrocarpous, pleurocarpous and the mjor families in these 16 cities.