Diversity And Inventory Of Vascular Plants In The Dabie Mountains

Dabie Mountains lies between the Yangtze and Huaihe River,at the junction of Hubei,Henan and Anhui,with distinctive geographical location and complex landforms.It is an ecological corridor connecting the Qinling Mountains and Wuyi Mountains.The ancient geological structure breeds a variety of natural landscapes,providing favorable conditions for the convergence of species,and has become an important biodiversity hotspot.When summarizing the previous research data,it is found that the region lacks systematic investigation and studies on plant diversity,with global warming and frequent human interference,plant diversity is seriously threatened by severe fragmentation of habitats.Therefore,it is necessary to conduct a scientific plant background researches in this region.Through field researches,combined with the latest literature,specimen data and imagedatabase,the updated list of vascular plant diversity in Dabie Mountains has been compiled.Based on this list,the plant diversity in Dabie Mountains was statistically organized,the rare,endangered and key protected plants were analyzed,and some conservation suggestions were put forward.The invasive plants were evaluated as well as discussed.The main results are as follows:1.Dabie Mountains have rich plant diversity,2717 vascular plant species(including subspecies)belonging to 1095 genera of 202 families.Among them,there are 192 species of ferns and lycophytes,belonging to 66 genera of 24 families.There are 34 species of gymnosperms belonging to 21 genera of 6 families,and 2491 angiosperms from 1008 genera of 172 families.In this region,ferns and lycophytes were poor,only 7.07% of the total species,while angiosperms were the most abundant,91.68% of total species.2.The proportion of montypic and minor genera in this region is high,with a total of1669 species of 985 genera,accounting for 89.95% of all genera and 61.43% of the total species.Among ferns and lycophytes,there are 109 species of 49 genera.Among seed plants,there are 1560 species belonging of 936 monotypic or minor genera.All of these indicate that the region is conducive to the preservation of ancient remnant plants and the migration and settlement of new species.3.The Dabie Mountains are rich in the rare,endangered and key protected plants,with a total of 88 species,of which 54 are listed in China Species Red List,including 8critically endangered species,5 endangered species,15 vulnerable species and 4 near threatened species.64 species are recorded in the updated National Key Protected Wild Plants Iist by Government,with 7 species being in class I and 57 species being in class II.4.There are many alien invasive plants in the Dabie Mountains,with a total of 165 species.They can be divided into 5 grades according to their biological and ecological characteristics,origin and geographical distribution,invasion range and damage.Among them,16,29,26,42,52 species are classified as class 1 to 5,respectively.5.6 new species,1 new distribution family,49 new distribution genera and 233 new distribution species were found in this region during the investigation.In addition,multiple populations of the critically endangered Cynanchum hubeiense were discovered and hundreds of individuals were found in type specimen's sites.These indicate that the current researches in Dabie Mountains are relatively weak,and the resource situation has not yet been clear.The background surveys are still continue.