Study On The Prioritizing Protection Of The Wild Orchids In China Based On Systematic Conservation Planning

Biodiversity is of great significance to all living creatures on the earth. However, due to unreasonable utilization and excessive consumption of natural resources, the global biodiversity is suffering an unprecedented destruction. Therefore, how to effectively preserve the biodiversity of what we have has become a critically important issue to human beings. As orchid is the flagship group of plant family, the protection of orchid to some extent means the future of plant’s preservation. Thus, based on the country level units, this paper focuses on the prioritizing conservation of China’s wild orchids through the Systematic Conservation Planning approach and the C-Plan conservation planning software. And in this paper, a GAP analysis of biodiversity is conducted according to the state-level conservation areas and the prioritizing conservation of wild orchids in China. The objective of this study is to discuss the conservation status of wild orchids in China and provide the biodiversity conservation of China’s wild orchids with scientific references. Through the analysis, results are as follows:(1) Geographic distribution pattern:According to the distribution number of species on the county level, geographic distribution pattern of wild orchids in China is established and analyzed through Arc GIS software. And the results show that Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province and Tibet Autonomous Region are the hotspots of wild orchids distributed in China. The endangered orchids distribute extremely rich in these areas in the meantime.(2) Priority conservation areas:By calculating the irreplaceable (IR) value of planning unit, the priority conservation areas of China’s orchids are mainly distributed in the following eight areas:The Himalayan——Qinling region, Xishuangbanna——southeast Yunnan——hundreds of mountain region, Dianguiqian——Nan Ling region, Mountains of eastern Chongqing and western Hubei——Wushan——Xuefeng Mountain region, Mountainous area of South Central Hainan, The mountains of Eastern Taiwan, Golden Mountains of Altai and Changbai Mountains. Those priority conservation areas are made up by 118 planning units in total where 589 species of orchid can be protected.(3) GAP analysis:Through GAP analysis of the priority conservation areas of China’s orchids and national nature reserves, it’s not difficult to find that 30 counties are excluded by state reserve, that is to say orchids there are lacking protection, and they are distributed in the following six areas: Himalayas, Lancang River Basin, Yunnan——Guizhou plateaus, Nan Ling region and Pearl River Delta Area, Sichuan Basin, Mountainous area of South Central Hainan. The best way to protect orchids in those gap areas is to establish national nature reserves.In conclusion, as rare and endangered plants, orchids have an irreplaceable important status. This paper predominantly centers on the studies of geographical distribution pattern, prioritizing conservation and GAP analysis of wild orchids in China, and provides a scientific basis for the establishment and extension of wild orchids nature reserves.