Bryophyte Diversity In The Qilian Mountain Region In Qinghai

The Qilian Mountains of Qinghai are bounded by the Hexi Corridor in the north and the Qaidam Basin in the south.They have a continental alpine and semi-humid mountainous climate,with complex and diverse topography and variable species habitats,which provide relatively favourable conditions for the growth and development of various organisms.In previous studies,the bryophyte diversity of the Qilian Mountains as a whole has been systematically studied,but the main focus has been on the territory of Gansu Province,and research in Qinghai Province is still relatively scarce.It is of great significance for the conservation of biodiversity and the improvement of the ecological environment in the northwest region.The main findings are as follows:(1)Through the identification and collation of more than 1063 bryophyte specimens collected in the Qilian Mountains of Qinghai,a total of 130 species in 68 genera of 29 families were found,including 7 species in 7 genera of 6families of mosses and 123 species in 61 genera of 23 families of mosses,including 58 new record species in Qinghai Province and 44 new record species in the Qilian Mountains.At the same time,the species classification of130 species of mosses was carried out,and a search list of families,genera and species was compiled,describing detailed habitat characteristics,specimen information and distribution,with morphological and anatomical colour maps attached to each species,providing basic data for the study of the diversity of mosses in the study area.(2)The dominant families of mosses in the study area are 6 families,including 38 genera and 88 species,namely Pottiaceae,Mniaceae,Grimmiaceae,Amblystegiaceae,Bryaceae and Hypnaceae,which are the dominant moss species in the study area.There are five dominant genera,all within five dominant families,namely Didymodon,Grimmia,Syntrichia,Mnium and Bryum.11 families contain only one species,five families of mosses and six families of mosses,and 44 genera contain only one species,seven genera of mosses and 37 genera of mosses,reflecting the richness of bryophyte resources in the study area.This reflects the richness and complexity of the bryophyte resources in the study area and is of great research value.(3)The entire study area is divided into eight zonal geographical components,of which the North Temperate elements is the main part of the study area,containing 72 species,accounting for 66.05%.The Old World Temperate elements and the East Asian component both contain nine species,accounting for 16.52%,and the Temperate Asian elements contains 4 species,accounting for 3.67%.Endemic to China contains 6 species,accounting for5.50%.The endemic phenomenon is less obvious,probably because the climate,moisture and habitat conditions in the study area are relatively unfavourable for the growth of Chinese endemic components.The intermittently distributed components of Tropica Asian and Tropical Central American elenents are also sporadically distributed,indicating that the distribution of bryophyte species in the study area is characterized by overgrowth.(4)The Patrick richness index showed a single-peaked distribution,with the number of species increasing and then decreasing,reaching a peak of 80species in the subalpine snow sparse(3300?3800m),accounting for 64.00%of the total number of species.The Shannon-Wiener diversity index ranged from 3.290?3.703 and was found to be highest in the cold-temperate conifer forest belt and relatively low in the subalpine snow sparse.The Simpson dominance index ranged from 0.030?0.066,showing a slightly opposite trend to the two indices mentioned above.The relatively small variation in the Pielou evenness index indicates that the dominant species growing in different vegetation belts are not the same.The largest?_C values were found between the alpine shrub-meadow and subalpine snow sparse,indicating the fastest transition in species turnover and change rates of ground bryophytes in these two vegetation zones.The largest?_T values were found in the mountain shrub-meadow and the alpine shrub-meadow,indicating that the changes in ground bryophyte communities in the two latitudinal ranges were the most pronounced of all vegetation zones.