Botanica Pacifica. A journal of plant science and conservation 2014. 3(1): 33-37.
Article first published online: 30 APR 2014 | DOI: 10.17581/bp.2014.03103
Floristic Richness of Alpine Plant Communities on the Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan
Vladimir G. Onipchenko 1, 2, Alexander A. Shulakov 1, 2, Alexander S. Zernov 1, Tatiana G. Elumeeva 1, Yan Wu 3, Qian Wang 3 & Marinus J.A. Werger 4
1 Moscow State Lomonosov University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
2 Karachaevo-Cherkessian University, Karachaevsk, Karachaevo-Cherkessian Republic, Russia
3 Chengdu Institute of Biology CAS, Chengdu, China
4 Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
We expected that local plant species richness is high in relatively old and large territories that harbor specific conditions with characteristic communities. Furthermore, herbivory can promote the coexistence of different species and support high floristic richness. We tested the hypothesis that large alpine areas with a long history of grazing in the Tibetian Mountains support high local floristic richness in comparison with other regions. Number of vascular plant taxa was recorded in series of nested quadrates with sides from 5 to 1000 cm in four alpine communities with different grazing regimes in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau at Mount Kaka, Minshan Mountains, Sichuan province, China. We obtained high values for vascular species numbers for moderately grazed Tibetan meadows and Spiraea thickets (75.4 and 81.0 species/100 m2, respectively). This supports our hypothesis. On the other hand, alpine fens and Rhododendron thickets scored relatively poor on floristic richness values, and this may result mainly from the marginal ecological environment and also from the competitive advantage of Rhododendron in the absence of grazing.
Онипченко В.Г., Шулаков А.А., Зернов А.С., Елумеева Т.Г., У Я., Ванг Ч., Вергер М.Дж.А. Контрастное флористическое богатство альпийских растительных сообществ на восточном Цинхай-Тибетском плато Мы предположили, что локальная флористическая насыщенность наиболее высока на относительно обширных и старых территориях, вмещающих типичные растительные сообщества в своеобразных условиях. Фитофаги также могут способствовать сосуществованию и поддерживать флористическое разнообразие. Эти гипотезы были проверены на примере альпийских сообществ, занимающих обширные площади в Тибете. Исследовали число видов сосудистых растений на вмещающих сериях квадратов размером от 5 х 5 см до 10 х 10 м в сообществах четырех типов с различным режимом выпаса на востоке Цинхай-Тибетского плато в провинции Сычуань, КНР. Мы получили высокие величины флористической насыщенности для умеренно выпасаемых кобрезиевых лугов и кустарниковых сообществ с доминированием Spiraea spp. (75.4 и 81.0 вид/100 м2, соответственно). С другой стороны, альпийские болота и заросли рододендронов характеризовались относительно низкими величинами флористической насыщенности, что может быть связано со специфическими экологическими условиями в первом случае и конкуренцией со стороны видов Rhododendron при отсутствии выпаса во втором.
Keywords: species-area relationship, Kobresia alpine meadow, alpine fen, Rhododendron thicket, species diversity, grazing regime, кривая виды-площадь, альпийские кобрезиевые луга, альпийское болото, заросли рододендрона, видовое разнообразие, выпас
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