Global Ecology and Conservation (Oct 2023)
Distribution and conservation of the Lauraceae in China
Abstract
The family Lauraceae is characterized by numerous species and is an important element in tropical and subtropical forests in China. Altogether 99 species of the family have been considered as threatened, caused mainly by over exploitation and habitat loss, and 13 were listed in the National Key Protected Wild Plants (NKPWP, vers. 2021). However, the distribution characteristics and conservation status of these threatened species in China have not been established. Here we assemble a new distribution database of Lauraceae species in China, then analyze the geographic pattern of Lauraceae richness and the underlying environmental determinants, and further investigate the conservation status of these species. In total, our database contains 36,479 distribution records of 510 native species (including infraspecific taxa), including 2233 records of the 99 threatened species and 1066 records of the 13 NKPWP species. The results indicate that overall species richness of Lauraceae decreases with latitude, and is positively correlated with aridity index (AI), precipitation of warmest quarter (PWQ) and precipitation of coldest quarter (PCQ) while richness of threatened species is mainly influenced by isothermality (ISN) and temperature seasonality (TSN), slightly increases along ISN but decreases with TSN. Eighty-eight of the 99 endangered species (88.9% of the total) are protected in nature reserves. Eleven of the 13 NKPWP species (84.6% of the total) are distributed in different nature reserves, but two species (Cinnamomum chago and Sinopora hongkongensis) are not included in any nature reserves. The richness of NKPWP is positively correlated with the AI, but slowly decreasing with the increasing of precipitation seasonality (PSN) and PWQ. We found that 413 species (85.9% of the total) are distributed in nature reserves and the protection effectiveness of the family is high, but nine threatened species and two NKPWP species have not been conserved in any nature reserves. We propose taking in situ conservation actions urgently, especially for those species with extremely small populations including Machilus longipes, Cinnamomum chago and Sinopora hongkongensis. We reveal the distribution characteristics and identify conservation gaps of overall, threatened and NKPWP species of Lauraceae in China, and propose targeted strategies for further conservation, which is important for the conservation of Lauraceae in China.
