摘要
A case study on the richness variation of vascular plant species along the climatic gradient from mountain foot (400 m asl) up to the summit (3,100 m) was carried out in Mt. Shennongjia of central China. The results show that climatic features such as mean annual temperature ( Y =16.26-0.506 X, R 2 =0.995), mean annual precipitation ( Y=235.48+82.663X, R 2 =0.951) and frost free day ( Y=283.54-7.148X, R 2 =0.964) are linearly responding to the elevational increase. However the variation of species richness is not uniformly linearly correlated to the climatic gradients. From 400 m up to 1,000 m, the species number increases from 933 to 1718, with a increase rate of 126.18 species/100 m ( R 2=0.951, P <0.001). From 1,000 m up to the highest peak of 3,100 m, species richness gradually declines with a rate of 94.36 species/100 m ( R 2=0.961, P <0.001). This variation can be described by a cubic model, y =-458.22+463.93 x -30.64 x 2+0.53 x 3 ( R 2=0.989, P <0.0001). Analysis calls for further study for better understanding of the relationship between biodiversity and environmental variation in this key area.
A case study on the richness variation of vascular plant species along the climatic gradient from mountain foot (400 m asl) up to the summit (3,100 m) was carried out in Mt. Shennongjia of central China. The results show that climatic features such as mean annual temperature ( Y =16.26-0.506 X, R 2 =0.995), mean annual precipitation ( Y=235.48+82.663X, R 2 =0.951) and frost free day ( Y=283.54-7.148X, R 2 =0.964) are linearly responding to the elevational increase. However the variation of species richness is not uniformly linearly correlated to the climatic gradients. From 400 m up to 1,000 m, the species number increases from 933 to 1718, with a increase rate of 126.18 species/100 m ( R 2=0.951, P <0.001). From 1,000 m up to the highest peak of 3,100 m, species richness gradually declines with a rate of 94.36 species/100 m ( R 2=0.961, P <0.001). This variation can be described by a cubic model, y =-458.22+463.93 x -30.64 x 2+0.53 x 3 ( R 2=0.989, P <0.0001). Analysis calls for further study for better understanding of the relationship between biodiversity and environmental variation in this key area.
