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Introduction: Knowledge of species richness patterns and their relation with climate is required to develop various forest management actions including habitat management, biodiversity and risk assessment, restoration and ecosystem modelling. In practice, the pattern of the data might not be spatially constant and cannot be well addressed by ordinary least square (OLS) regression. This study uses GWR to deal with spatial non-stationarity and to identify the spatial correlation between the plant richness distribution and the climate variables (i.e., the temperature and precipitation) in a 1° grid in different biogeographic zones of India. Methodology: We utilized the species richness data collected using 0.04 ha nested quadrats in an Indian study. The data from this national study, titled ‘Biodiversity Characterization at Landscape Level’, were aggregated at the 1° grid level and adjudged for sampling sufficiency. The performances of OLS and GWR models were compared in terms of the coefficient of determination (R2) and the corrected Akaike Information Criterion (AICc). Results and discussion: A comparative study of the R2 and AICc values of the models showed that all the GWR models performed better compared with the analogous OLS models. The climate variables were found to significantly influence the distribution of plant richness in India. The minimum precipitation (Pmin) consistently dominated individually (R2 = 0.69; AICc = 2608) and in combinations. Among the shared models, the one with a combination of Pmin and Tmin had the best model fits (R2 = 0.72 and AICc = 2619), and variation partitioning revealed that the influence of these parameters on the species richness distribution was dominant in the arid and the semi-arid zones and in the Deccan peninsula zone. Conclusion: The shift in climate variables and their power to explain the species richness of biogeographic zones suggests that the climate–diversity relationships of plants species vary spatially. In particular, the dominant influence of Tmin and Pmin could be closely linked to the climate tolerance hypothesis (CTH). We found that the climate variables had a significant influence in defining species richness patterns in India; however, various other environmental and non-environmental (edaphic, topographic and anthropogenic) variables need to be integrated in the models to understand climate–species richness relationships better at a finer scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avena ventricosa Balansa ex Coss. is considered the C-genome donor of the cultivated hexaploid oat and is a ‘priority’ species for conservation, since it has limited geographic distribution and the only recorded populations in Europe are present in Cyprus. The current study attempts to characterize the genetic structure and fragmentation of the species via the application of genotypic markers. It was revealed that the genetic variety was mainly allocated among the populations collected, since clustering obtained was according to the geographic origin of the samples and the habitat. Species distribution modeling showed that the most important climatic variable defining A. ventricosa distribution is the mean diurnal temperature. Furthermore, significant association of the genetic structure to environmental variables was detected; overall, a negative association to precipitation was confirmed, while significant correlations of genetic structure and the temperature at the time of anthesis and germination were established. The safeguarding of this valuable genetic resource is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machilus pauhoi Kanehira is an important timber species in China. A provenance trial was recently set up to evaluate the growth performance of trees from different localities, with the aim of designing seed transfer guidelines. Here, we tested twelve nuclear microsatellite markers derived from other species of the Lauraceae family and investigated population genetic structure in M. pauhoi. Both the number of observed alleles per locus (Na) and the polymorphic information content (PIC) significantly decreased against the latitude, but showed an insignificant decrease against the longitude. Heterozygosity (Ho) and gene diversity (h) exhibited a weak correlation with geographic location. Private alleles were present in multiple populations, and a moderate level of population genetic differentiation was detected (Gst = 0.1691). The joint pattern of genetic diversity (Na, PIC, Ho, and h) suggests that general northeastward dispersal led to the current distribution of M. pauhoi. Significant but weak effects of isolation-by-distance (IBD) occurred, implicating the mountain ranges as the major barrier to gene flow. Both STRUCTURE and hierarchical clustering analyses showed three distinct groups of populations related to the physical connectivity among mountain ranges. A priority in designing genetic conservation should be given to the populations at the southwest side of the species’ distribution. This conservation strategy can also be combined with the pattern of adaptive genetic variation from the provenance trial for comprehensive genetic resource management of native M. pauhoi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed the characteristics of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) functional trait responses to geographic and climatic factors in the eastern region of Northeast China (41°–48°N) and the linear relationships among Korean pine functional traits, to explore this species’ adaptability and ecological regulation strategies under different environmental conditions. Korean pine samples were collected from eight sites located at different latitudes, and the following factors were determined for each site: geographic factors—latitude, longitude, and altitude; temperature factors—mean annual temperature (MAT), growth season mean temperature (GST), and mean temperature of the coldest month (MTCM); and moisture factors—annual precipitation (AP), growth season precipitation (GSP), and potential evapotranspiration (PET). The Korean pine functional traits examined were specific leaf area (SLA), leaf thickness (LT), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), specific root length (SRL), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), root nitrogen content (RNC), and root phosphorus content (RPC). The results showed that Korean pine functional traits were significantly correlated to latitude, altitude, GST, MTCM, AP, GSP, and PET. Among the Korean pine functional traits, SLA showed significant linear relationships with LT, LDMC, LNC, LPC, and RPC, and LT showed significant linear relationships with LDMC, SRL, LNC, LPC, RNC, and RPC; the linear relationships between LNC, LPC, RNC, and RPC were also significant. In conclusion, Korean pine functional trait responses to latitude resulted in its adaptation to geographic and climatic factors. The main limiting factors were precipitation and evapotranspiration, followed by altitude, latitude, GST, and MTCM. The impacts of longitude and MAT were not obvious. Changes in precipitation and temperature were most responsible for the close correlation among Korean pine functional traits, reflecting its adaption to habitat variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flora of Laos is composed of 5,005 species in 1,373 genera and 188 families of seed plants. Floristic and geographical attributes of the flora were analyzed. Tropical floristic elements at the family and generic levels contributed a majority (62.23% of the families and 82.30% of the genera) of the flora, of which the dominant geographical elements were pantropical distribution (42.02% of families) and tropical Asian distribution (30.08% of genera). This revealed that the flora of Lao PDR is tropical in nature and has a conspicuously tropical Asian affinity. Compared with the neighbouring countries of the Indochina peninsula, the flora of Laos has similar floristic composition and geographical elements. The floras of these Indochinese countries have similarities of more than 77.84% at the generic level, which suggests that they compose an affiliated biogeographical region. However, the flora of Laos showed the highest similarity to the flora of Vietnam (92.13%), followed by Myanmar (86.01%) at the generic level, but has less East Asian and North Temperate elements than Vietnam, and less North Temperate elements than Myanmar. These differences among the compared countries could be explained by the extrusion of the Indochinese block with the uplift of the Himalayas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a great number of literatures, we established the database about the Chinese endemic seed plants and analyzed the compositions, growth form, distribution and angiosperm original families of them within three big natural areas and seven natural regions. The results indicate that the above characters of Chinese endemic plants take on relative rule at the different geographical scales. Among the three big natural areas, Eastern Monsoon area has the highest endemic plants richness, whereas Northwest Dryness area is the lowest. For life forms, herbs dominate. In contrast, the proportion of herbs of Eastern Monsoon area is remarkable under other two areas. Correspondingly the proportions of trees and shrubs are substantially higher than other two. For angiosperm original families, the number is the highest in Eastern Monsoon area, and lowest in Northwest Dryness area. On the other hand, among the seven natural regions, the humid and subtropical zone in Central and Southern China has the highest endemic plants richness, whereas the humid, hemi-humid region and temperate zone in Northeast China has the lowest. For life forms, the proportion of herbs tends to decrease from humid, hemi-humid region and temperate zone in Northeast China to humid and tropical zone in Southern China. Comparably, trees, shrubs and vines or lianas increase with the same directions. This fully represents these characters of Chinese endemic plants vary with latitudinal gradients. Furthermore, as to the number of endemic plants belonging to angiosperm original families, the number is the most in humid and subtropical zone in Center and Southern China, and tropical zone in Southern China in the next place. In contrast, the endemic plant of these two regions relatively is richer than that of The Qinghai-Tibet alpine and cold region. All above results sufficiently reflect that the Chinese endemic plants mainly distribute in Eastern Monsoon area, especially humid and subtropical zone in Center and Southern China and tropical zone in Southern China. Furthermore, the flora of Eastern Monsoon area, in particular humid and subtropical zone in Center and Southern China and tropical zone in Southern China, is more ancient and original than that of Northwest Dryness area and Qinghai-Tibet alpine and cold area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until now, little attention has been paid to the geographic distribution and evaluation of genetic diversity of durum wheat from the Central Fertile Crescent (modern-day Turkey and Syria). Turkey and Syria are considered as primary centers of wheat diversity, and thousands of locally adapted wheat landraces are still present in the farmers’ small fields. We planned this study to evaluate the genetic diversity of durum wheat landraces from the Central Fertile Crescent by genotyping based on DArTseq and SNP analysis. A total of 39,568 DArTseq and 20,661 SNP markers were used to characterize the genetic characteristic of 91 durum wheat land races. Clustering based on Neighbor joining analysis, principal coordinate as well as Bayesian model implemented in structure, clearly showed that the grouping pattern is not associated with the geographical distribution of the durum wheat due to the mixing of the Turkish and Syrian landraces. Significant correlation between DArTseq and SNP markers was observed in the Mantel test. However, we detected a non-significant relationship between geographical coordinates and DArTseq (r = -0.085) and SNP (r = -0.039) loci. These results showed that unconscious farmer selection and lack of the commercial varieties might have resulted in the exchange of genetic material and this was apparent in the genetic structure of durum wheat in Turkey and Syria. The genomic characterization presented here is an essential step towards a future exploitation of the available durum wheat genetic resources in genomic and breeding programs. The results of this study have also depicted a clear insight about the genetic diversity of wheat accessions from the Central Fertile Crescent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Habitat fragmentation, water resources and biological characteristics are important factors that shape the genetic structure and geographical distribution of desert plants. Analysis of the relationships between these factors and population genetic variation should help to determine the evolutionary potential and conservation strategies for genetic resources for desert plant populations. As a traditional Chinese herb, Glycyrrhiza inflata B. (Fabaceae) is restricted to the fragmented desert habitat in China and has undergone a dramatic decline due to long-term over-excavation. Determining the genetic structure of the G. inflata population and identifying a core collection could help with the development of strategies to conserve this species. Results: We investigated the genetic variation of 25 G. inflata populations based on microsatellite markers. A high level of population genetic divergence (FST = 0.257), population bottlenecks, reduced gene flow and moderate genetic variation (HE = 0.383) were detected. The genetic distances between the populations significantly correlated with the geographical distances, and this suggests that habitat fragmentation has driven a special genetic structure of G. inflata in China through isolation by distance. STRUCTURE analysis showed that G. inflata populations were structured into three clusters and that the populations belonged to multiple water systems, which suggests that water resources were related to the genetic structure of G. inflata. In addition, the biological characteristics of the perennial species G. inflata, such as its long-lived seeds, asexual reproduction, and oasis ecology, may be related to its resistance to habitat fragmentation. A core collection of G. inflata, that included 57 accessions was further identified, which captured the main allelic diversity of G. inflata. Conclusions: Recent habitat fragmentation has accelerated genetic divergence. The population genetic structure of G. inflata has been shaped by habitat fragmentation, water resources and biological characteristics. This genetic information and core collection will facilitate the conservation of wild germplasm and breeding of this Chinese medicinal plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tintinnids are planktonic ciliates that play an important role in marine ecosystem. According to their distribution in the world oceans, tintinnid genera were divided into several biogeographical types such as boreal, warm water, austral and neritic. Therefore, the oceanic tintinnid assemblage could be correspondingly divided into boreal assemblage, warm water assemblage and austral assemblage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of boreal tintinnid assemblage in the Northwest Pacific and the Arctic, and to identify the connection between boreal tintinnid assemblage and neighboring assemblages. Surface water samples were collected along a transect from the East China Sea to the Chukchi Sea in summer 2014. According to the presence of boreal genera and warm water genera, three tintinnid assemblages (the East China Sea neritic assemblage, the Japan Sea warm water assemblage, and the boreal assemblage) were identified along the transect. The boreal assemblage extended from the Chukchi Sea to the waters north of the Sōya Strait. Densities peaks occurred at stations in the two branches of the Alaska Current and decreased both northward and southward. The densities were <10 ind./dm3 at most stations in Arctic region. The dominant genera (Acanthostomella, Codonellopsis, Parafavella, and Ptychocylis) accounted for 79.07±29.67% (n = 49) of the abundance in the boreal assemblage. The densities of the dominant genera covaried with strongly significant positive correlations. Tintinnids with lorica oral diameter of 22–26 μm and 38–42 μm were dominant and contributed 67.35% and 15.13%, respectively, to the total abundance in the boreal assemblage. The distribution and densities of tintinnids in the study area suggest that the Sōya Strait might be a geographical barrier for tintinnids expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the continental or island origin of Hainan, and the Indo-Malaysian or East Asian affinity of its flora, are debatable. In this study, 196 families, 1283 genera and 3894 species of Hainan plants were recognized. Patterns of seed plant distribution were quantified at the generic and the family levels. The floras of Vietnam, and the adjacent Guangxi and Guangdong provinces of mainland China, were compared with Hainan. The results showed that the flora of Hainan Island is dominated by families and genera with tropical distributions. Among its floristic elements, tropical Asian distributions make up 23.85% of the total flora, while East Asian distributions contribute only 3.74%. There are only 7 genera and c. 10% of species endemic to Hainan Island. The Hainan flora has strong similarities to the flora of Vietnam at the family and the generic levels, and also to the flora of Guangxi, but less with the adjacent Guangdong province. The main conclusions are: Hainan’s flora is tropical in nature with a strongly tropical Asian affinity, and it has very low endemism at the generic and species levels, which implies a continental origin. We conjecture that Hainan Island could have been adjacent to northern Vietnam and the Guangxi at least in Eocene. This suggestion is supported by palaeobotanical, palaeomagnetic and volcanism studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]