Search

The Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains (HDM) are recognized as two global biodiversity hotspots, harboring the world's richest alpine flora. However, to what extent the distribution of alpine plants here is affected by climate change remains largely unknown. Bergenia (Saxifragaceae) are perennial medicinal herbs mainly distributed in the Himalaya-HDM region. In this study, we used bioclimatic data for current and future climate scenarios to assess the impact of climate change on the potential distribution of three Bergenia (Saxifragaceae) species. Our results revealed that the geographical distribution of the studied Bergenia species is primarily influenced by precipitation and elevation. By 2090, the three Bergenia species are expected to show contrasting range changes. The western Himalayan alpine species Bergenia stracheyi is expected to expand its range with 21.93 and 17.36% under the optimistic (SSP1-2.6) and moderate (SSP2-4.5) climate change scenario, respectively, while its distribution will shrink by 5.26% under the pessimistic scenario (SSP5-8.5). The Himalayan mid-elevation species B. ciliata is expected to expand its range from 142.42 to 157.14%. In contrast, the distribution range of the east Himalaya-HDM alpine species B. purpurascens is expected to shrink with 34.88 to 47.24%, with most of the habitats in the southeast chains of the HDM at lower elevation summits being lost. In addition, all three Bergenia species are projected to shift their ranges to higher elevations in response to temperature increases. Overall, we conclude that alpine plants may be more vulnerable to climate change than their congeners at lower elevations, supporting the "nowhere to go" hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highest parts of the European mountain massifs are covered by subalpine and alpine vegetation, with rich flora containing many relic woody plants adapted to cold temperatures and relatively short vegetation periods. In the Ukrainian Carpathians, only several highest mountain massifs form environmental conditions suitable for high mountain plants. The aim of the study was the detection of the centre of biodiversity of the high mountain plants in the East Carpathians in Ukraine. We expected the largest number of high mountain woody species in the Ukrainian East Carpathians would occur in the Chornohora, the largest and most elevated mountain chain in the country. To solve this problem, the geographic distribution of 16 woody species was analysed cartographically. We gathered georeferenced data of 919 localities of taxa, which occur in the subalpine and alpine vegetation belts, and prepared maps of their distribution using QGIS software. Additionally, we analysed vertical distribution and occurrence on different expositions of every taxon. Most of analysed subalpine and alpine species occur in the highest and the largest mountain massifs. The high mountain woody species occur in the Ukrainian parts of the East Carpathians mainly in the largest mountain massifs, the Chornohora, Svydovets, Chyvchyny, Marmarosh, and to a lesser extent, also in the Gorgany. The vertical distribution and predominant occurrence on the northern or close to northern expositions of most subalpine and alpine species indicate their demands for the relatively high level of humidity of the soil and high level of precipitation. These condition point to the relic character of most of analysed species, which origin from the glacial periods of the Pleistocene. Most of the taxa, which have centres of their distribution in the alpine and sub-alpine vegetation belts of the East Carpathians in the Ukraine territory are valuable but threatened elements of the Ukrainian flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate is critical for plant altitudinal distribution patterns. Non-climatic factors also have important effects on vegetation altitudinal distribution in mountain regions. The purpose of this study was to explore the current distribution of plant diversity along the altitudinal gradient in the Taihang Mountain range of northern China and to estimate the effects of climatic and non-climatic factors on the elevational pattern. Through a field survey, a total of 480 sampling plots were established in the central Taihang Mountain range. Alpha diversities (the Shannon–Weiner index and Simpson index) and beta diversities (the Jaccard index and Cody index) were measured based on the survey data. Plant community structure change based on the altitudinal gradient was explored by measuring the diversity indices. Canonical correspondence analysis was carried out to determine the factors influencing plant altitudinal distribution. The contributions of climatic and non-climatic factors on plant distribution were determined by partial methods. The results showed that the plant diversity of the elevational gradient complied with a "hump-shaped" pattern, in which communities in the medium altitude area with higher plant diversity had a higher species turnover rate, and non-climatic factors, particularly the anthropogenic factors, had an important influence on the plant altitudinal pattern. In conclusion, climatic and non-climatic factors both had important effects on the plant altitudinal pattern. It is strongly recommended to reduce human interference in mountain vegetation protection and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecotone of ecological communities is usually rich in species and complex in floristic components, which is regarded as a key zone. Budanla Mountain is located in the transition zone of semi-humid to semi-arid ecological environment in Tibet. Because of its special natural geographical environment, it has rich mountain plant diversity. However, the composition and floristic characteristics of seed plants in this important ecological transition area are still not well understood. In order to clarify the floristic composition and vertical distribution pattern of seed plants on the south slope of Budanla Mountain, the floristic characteristics of seed plants on the south slope of this mountain were systematically studied through field plant community quadrat investigation, laboratory specimen identification and related literature review in this paper, the richness pattern of advantage genera and geographical composition along the altitude gradient was also explored. The results were as follows:(1)There were approximately 316 species of seed plants belonging to 45 families and 156 genera in the south slope of Budanla Mountain, in which there were the most abundant single species and small genera of seed plants, the temperate distribution type was dominant at the genus and species level.(2)In the vertical distribution gradient of geographical elements, the temperate distribution type had a peak value at 4 000 m, including 53 genera, and showed a downward trend with the increase of altitude.(3)The nature of floristic geographical elements and the vertical distribution of species richness in this area might be mainly affected by the local semi-humid climate, local environmental factors and topography. The results of this study can provide important basic data for the study of plant diversity protection and resource utilization in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large‐scale patterns of biodiversity and formation have garnered increasing attention in biogeography and macroecology. The Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an ideal area for exploring these issues. However, the QTP consists of multiple geographic subunits, which are understudied. The Kunlun Mountains is a geographical subunit situated in the northern edge of the QTP, in northwest China. The diversity pattern, community phylogenetic structures, and biogeographical roles of the current flora of the Kunlun Mountains were analyzed by collecting and integrating plant distribution, regional geological evolution, and phylogeography. A total of 1911 species, 397 genera, and 75 families present on the Kunlun Mountains, of which 29.8% of the seed plants were endemic to China. The mean divergence time (MDT) of the Kunlun Mountains flora was in the early Miocene (19.40 Ma). Analysis of plant diversity and MDT indicated that the eastern regions of the Kunlun Mountains were the center of species richness, endemic taxa, and ancient taxa. Geographical origins analysis showed that the Kunlun Mountains flora was diverse and that numerous clades were from East Asia and Tethyan. Analysis of geographical origins and geological history together highlighted that the extant biodiversity on the Kunlun Mountains appeared through species recolonization after climatic fluctuations and glaciations during the Quaternary. The nearest taxon index speculated that habitat filtering was the most important driving force for biodiversity patterns. These results suggest that the biogeographical roles of the Kunlun Mountains are corridor and sink, and the corresponding key processes are species extinction and immigration. The Kunlun Mountains also form a barrier, representing a boundary among multiple floras, and convert the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau into a relatively closed geographical unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on species richness patterns and the advanced elevational Rapoport rule (ERR) has been widespread in recent years; however, there is a lack of such research for the temperate mountainous regions in northeast Asia. Here, we collected plant species from the Seorak Mountain in northeast Asia through field surveys. The species were divided into 11 groups according to the life‐form types and phytogeography affinities of each species. The ERR was evaluated using Steven's method and by examining the species richness patterns of each group. The species richness patterns revealed a positive multimodal pattern along the elevation gradient, but phytogeography affinities (increasing trend) and life‐form analysis (unimodal) exhibited different patterns. The elevation gradients (1,350 m for the mean elevation–range relationships), which are affected by the boundary effect and different life forms, did not consistently support the ERR. However, herbs as well as rare, endemic, and red list species showed consistent support for the ERR, which could be attributed to the influence by phytogeography affinities. Therefore, the results from Seorak Mountain showed that the ERR was not consistent for different plant life forms in the same area; however, phytogeography affinities could support and explain ERR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine how snow cover and permafrost affect plant species distributions at a subcontinental extent. Location: Mountain realm of Fennoscandia, northern Europe. Time period: Species data from 1 January 1990–25 February 2019. Major taxa studied: Arctic‐alpine and boreal vascular plants. Methods: We examined the effect of snow persistence and permafrost occurrence on the distributions of arctic‐alpine and boreal plant species while controlling for climate, topography and geological factors. Data comprised 475,811 observations from 671 species in the Fennoscandian mountains. We investigated the relationships between species distributions and environmental variables using four modelling methods and ensemble modelling building on both non‐spatial and spatial models. Results: Snow persistence was the most important driver of plant species distributions, with the greatest variable importance for both arctic‐alpine (38.2%) and boreal (49.9%) species. Permafrost had a consistent minor effect on the predicted distributions. Arctic‐alpine plants occur in areas with long snow persistence and permafrost, whereas boreal species showed the opposite habitat preferences. Main conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of snow persistence in driving the distribution of vascular plant species in cold environments at a subcontinental scale. The notable contribution of the cryosphere to plant species distribution models indicates that the inclusion of snow information in particular may improve our understanding and model predictions of biogeographical patterns in cold regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]