Studies on the Evergreen Broad-leaved Forests of Yunnan, Southwestern China

Yunnan of southwestern China supports an extremely rich biodiversity and various vegetation types dominated by evergreen broad-leaved forest. The floristic composition, species diversity, physiognomy and biogeography of three major types of the evergreen broad-leaved forest in Yunnan were surveyed using 1-ha plots. The three forest types are very diverse in species composition, diversity, physiognomy and biogeography, although they are commonly dominated by species of the families Fagaceae, Theaceae and Lauraceae. The lower montane evergreen broad-leaved forest (LMEB) in southern Yunnan is extremely rich in species and is characterized by a tropical physiognomy and dominated by tropical Asian species, similar to the tropical lower montane evergreen forest commonly in southeast Asia. The semi-wet evergreen broad-leaved forest (SWEB) on plateaus and the upper montane evergreen broadleaved forest (UMEB) in central and northern Yunnan are characterized by a subtropical physiognomy and are dominated by Sino-Himalayan and Chinese endemic species, and are unique in southwestern China. The SWEB and the UMEB should be given high conservation values due to their uniqueness and abundant Chinese endemic species. Especially, the SWEB should be given the highest protection because most remnants of this forest have lost due to heavily human disturbance. Keywords Evergreen broad-leaved forests * Floristic composition * Species diversity * Physiognomy * Biogeography * Conservation * Southwestern China
Introduction The Yunnan Province of southwestern China lies between 21[degrees]09' and 29[degrees] 15' N, 97[degrees]32' and 106[degrees] 12' E (Fig. 1) and occupies an area of 394,100 [km.sup.2]. It has [...]