Altitudinal Range of Black-and-white Snub-nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti ) at Baima Snow Mountain, China

Faeces were counted along horizontal, 5.0m wide strips at altitude intervals of 100m to examine the altitudinal ranging pattern of a band of black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys （Rhinopithecus bieti） at Nanren （99°04′E, 28°34′N, Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reverse, Yunnan, China） at four areas in each season between 2000-2001. Faeces were also counted along vertical, 2.5 m wide strips in one subvalley and on one subridge in each area. Monkeys used an altitudinal range of 3500-4300m, but preferred occupying the upper forest belt between 3900 and 4200m asl year-round, being at the highest altitude in summer, the lowest altitude in spring, and middle altitudes between autumn and winter （lower in winter than autumn）. Moreover, there were secondary peaks of lower altitude use （3700m） in spring and winter. In addition, more faeces were distributed in subvalleys than on subridges in winter, this suggests that monkeys tend to spend more time in subvalleys where there is less wind and fluctuating temperatures. The significant correlation between faecal density and lichen load might indicate that altitudinal distribution of food resources may act as an important factor affecting the monkeys＇ range. The monkeys might migrate to lower altitudes to eat young sprouts and leaves in spring, and to shelter from snowstorms in winter, possibly resulting in the secondary peaks at lower altitudes.

Endemic medicinal plant distribution correlated with stable climate,precipitation,and cultural diversity

Medicinal plants provide crucial ecosystem services,especially in developing countries such as China,which harbors diverse endemic medicinal plant species with substantial cultural and economic value.Accordingly,understanding the patterns and drivers of medicinal plant distribution is critical.However,few studies have investigated the patterns and drivers of endemic medicinal plants distribution in China.Here,we linked endemic medicinal plants distribution with possible explanatory variables,i.e.,paleoclimate change,contemporary climate,altitudinal range and ethnic minority human population size at the prefecture city level in China.Our results show that endemic medicinal plants are concentrated in southern China,especially in southwestern China.Notably,both endemic medicinal plant species richness and the ratio of endemic medicinal plant species richness are negatively associated with glacialinterglacial anomaly in temperature,and positively associated with contemporary precipitation and altitudinal range.In addition,we found that endemic medicinal plant species richness is positively associated with ethnic minority population sizes as well as its ratio to the overall population size.These findings suggest that the distribution of endemic medicinal plants is determined by multiple drivers.Furthermore,our findings stress that dramatic future climate changes and massive anthropogenic activities in southern China pose great challenges to the conservation of China's endemic medicinal plants.

The Diseases of Coffee under the Changing Climate： The Established Situation in Kenya

The distribution of key diseases of coffee particularly the Coffee berry disease （CBD） and Coffee leaf rust （CLR） in Kenya depended on coffee growing agro-ecological zones, which have varied climatic conditions. Under the changing climate, there has been an observed shift in their altitudinal distribution. To ascertain whether these diseases have shifted in their distribution, an extensive field survey covering 120 coffee farmers/households in all the coffee growing agro ecological zones was conducted. The survey established four coffee diseases; -viz. Coffee berry disease, Coffee leaf rust, Fusarium root disease （FRD） and Bacterial blight of coffee （BBC） as of economic importance to the farming community. The CBD, CLR and FRD were widely distributed in all coffee growing agro ecological zones. Of the four diseases, the CBD （65%） and CLR （63.3%） were most common as reported by the farmers, however these diseases dominated in their respective agro ecological zones; CBD （72.2%） in Upper Midland 1 （UM1） and CLR （75.0%） in Upper Midland 2 （UM2）. Both diseases equally infected coffee farms （69.2%） in main coffee zone （UM2）. According to the survey said diseases have increased their altitudinal range, a trend that will increase diseases pressure in coffee growing areas.