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Wild plants are an important part of the natural ecological system, and China is one of the countries with the most abundant wild plant species. It is of great significance to study the distribution characteristics, protection status and potential distribution areas of National Key Protected Wild Plants for supporting and formulating biodiversity conservation strategies. Based on 1 032 species (belonging to 315 genera, 129 families) of National Key Protected Wild Plants, this study used the top 5% richness algorithm to identify hotspots, and superimposed with nature reserves to evaluate the conservation effectiveness and determine conservation gaps of current nature reserves. Furthermore, this study used maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the potential distribution and range shifts of National Key Protected Wild Plants. The results were as follows: (1) The areas with the highest species richness of the National Key Protected Wild Plants mainly confined to the south and southwest of China, especially in central Sichuan, southern and southeastern Yunnan, northern Guangxi, northern Guangdong and Hainan. (2) The conservation effectiveness of hotspot grids showed that 171 (85.50%) hotspot grids were efficient protection (including 80.50% of total species), and 29 hotspot grids (14.50%) were not effectively protected (including 51.20% of total species). (3) By comparing the potential distribution area of National Key Protected Wild Plants under current and future climate scenarios, it is found that potential distribution area would expand to southeastern of Xizang, southwestern Guangxi, southern Guangdong, and southern Fujian in the future, while those around Sichuan Basin, southern Yunnan and southern Guizhou would shrink. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the dynamic monitoring of biodiversity and pay continuous attention to the impact of climate change on National Key Protected Wild Plants in the region. Based on the analysis results of hotspot grids, conservation effectiveness and potential distribution areas identified in this study, strong data support and reference can be provided for the identification of diversity priority protected areas for National Key Protected Wild Plants and the formulation of conservation policies.

Abstract Background Medicinal plants have always played an important role in the history of human health. However, the populations and sustainable use of medicinal plants have been severely affected by human activities and climate change. Little is known about the current conservation status and distribution pattern of medicinal plants. In this study, based on accurate geographical distribution information of 9756 medicinal plants, we identified diversity hotspots and conservation gaps, evaluated conservation effectiveness of nature reserves, and predicted suitable habitat areas for medicinal plants in China to provide scientific guidance for their long-term conservation and sustainable use. Results A total of 150 diversity hotspot grid cells, mainly concentrated in central and southern China, were identified. These only accounted for 5% of the total distribution area but contained 96% of the medicinal plants of the country. The hotspot grid cells included all traditional hotspot areas, but we also detected three new hotspots, namely Mufu-Lushan Mountains, Tianshan-Altai Mountains, and Changbai Mountains. The current national and provincial nature reserves protect 125 hotspot grid cells, which harbor 94% of all medicinal plants. However, 25 hotspot grid cells, distributed in the Tianshan-Altai Mountains and Hengduan Mountains, are located outside the national and provincial nature reserves. An analysis of the predicted effects of climate change indicated that the suitable habitat areas will shift from southern to northern China, and that southern China will face a considerable loss of suitable habitat areas, while the east and west parts of China will encompass remarkably more suitable habitat areas in the future. Conclusions The current conservation networks have achieved high conservation effectiveness with regard to medicinal plants; however, the conservation gaps we identified should not be neglected, and conservation planning needs to take into account the predicted shifts of some hotspots of medicinal plants due to climate change.

Abstract The Yangtze River Basin (YRB), a key biodiversity area and a major economic zone in China, the biodiversity of the area is confronted with severe challenges. In this paper, we analyzed species distribution patterns based on a dataset with 18,538 seed plant species to identify hotspots and evaluate conservation effectiveness and gaps of the YRB. We calculated distribution patterns of species richness with the top 5% richness algorithm and complementarity algorithm, and reconstructed a phylogenetic tree and elucidated spatial phylogenetics. There were 214 hotspot grid cells covering only 6.8% of the study region, but containing 88% seed plant species. Then, we conducted correlation analysis on distribution patterns of different algorithms and species categories, which showed moderate or weak correlations between the top 5% richness algorithm and complementary algorithm. Conservation effectiveness analysis indicated there were 116 hotspot grid cells (accounting for 73.6% of the total species) protected by current conservation networks and there are many conservation gaps remaining. Finally, we used the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to predict suitable habitat areas of threatened species under current and future climate scenarios. Prediction analysis results indicated future expansion of suitable habitat to the southeast, and reduction in the central and western portions of the study area. When we considered anthropogenic areas, the suitable habitat was severely decreased, indicating the importance of optimizing the layout of conservation networks and comprehensive biodiversity conservation planning in the YRB.

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) harbors abundant and diverse plant life owing to its high habitat heterogeneity. However, the distribution pattern of biodiversity hotspots and their conservation status remain unclear. Based on 148,283 high-resolution occurrence coordinates of 13,450 seed plants, we identified hotspots by integrating data from species richness, species complementarity and spatial phylogenetics. Nine hotspot areas were identified that contained 89% of species but covered only 7% of the total land area of the QTP. Four of nine hotspots were identified firstly, including west Nyainqentanglha Mountains, the middle reaches of Lancang and Jinsha Rivers, the upper reaches of Yellow River and Qilian Mountains. Analysis of conservation efficiency indicated national nature reserves (NNRs) covered 55% of the hotspots, whereas NNRs and provincial nature reserves (PNRs) together protected 73% of the hotspots. Conservation efforts, such as establishing new protected areas and upgrading the level of existing nature reserves, should be strengthened in the conservation gaps. Targeted conservation should be carried out for species endemic to QTP due to their narrow distribution range and low conservation effectiveness. Niche modeling for 336 threatened plants indicated there were apparent range shifts of suitable habitat areas from the eastern edge to the center of the plateau under future climate scenarios, and conservation priority should be focused on the southern QTP for where have stable habitats.