Spatial distribution patterns and environmental interpretation of plant species richness in the Lhasa Valley, Tibet

doi:10.11686/cyxb2015566

Abstract

Abstract: Spatial distribution patterns of species richness and potential influencing factors are important aspects of species diversity research and biodiversity conservation. However, little biodiversity research has been carried out in the Lhasa valley. Based on vegetation types, 47 plots with 141 quadrats were established to investigate the spatial distribution of species richness and its relationship with environmental factors. The study showed that a total of 247 species of vascular plant species, belonging to 47 Families and 134 different Genus, were recorded in this study. Climatic data for each plot was calculated using the Cokriging method. Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) and variation partitioning were generated to explore the influence of spatial structures and environmental factors on the distribution of species richness, and generalized additive model analyses (GAM) were performed to examine the influence of environmental factors and vegetation cover on species richness. De-trended correspondence analysis (DCA) was utilised to detect and analyze the distribution of species richness and its relationships with environment. The results of MEM and variation partitioning indicated that spatial structure was important to the distribution of species richness but environmental factors also played an important role in spatial structure. GAM of environmental factors and transformed species richness (TSR) suggested that distribution patterns of plant species richness are significantly related to longitude, latitude, altitude, AP (annual precipitation), AET (actual evapotranspiration), MAT (mean annual temperature), PET (potential evapotranspiration), MI (moisture index). DCA also supported this result, indicating that these environmental factors influenced the distribution patterns of species richness. Other important factors influencing biodiversity include disturbance and humidity.

La-Duo, ZHANG Yan-Jie, LIU Jie, CUI Ling-Ling, PANG You-Zhi. Spatial distribution patterns and environmental interpretation of plant species richness in the Lhasa Valley, Tibet[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2016, 25(10): 202-211.

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