Biodiversity Data Journal :
Data Paper (Biosciences)
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Corresponding author: Chunjing Wang (wangchunjing00@163.com), Chunhui Zhang (zhangcqhu@163.com)
Academic editor: Anatoliy Khapugin
Received: 13 Mar 2024 | Accepted: 27 Apr 2024 | Published: 22 May 2024
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC0 Public Domain Dedication.
Citation:
Ma Y, Wang C, Wu C, Huang S, Gao Z, Chen Z, Yu F, Zhang C, Wan J (2024) Checklist of vascular plant species in Huangshui River Basin of Qinghai Province, China. Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e123002. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e123002
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The Huangshui River Basin is one of the most important water sources in the Qinghai Province and is of great importance for ecological protection measures, agricultural irrigation and tourism. Based on previous studies and fieldwork related to plant species in China, this study presents comprehensive data on vascular plants distributed in the Huangshui River Basin of Qinghai Province.
Ethical Compliance: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Data Access Statement: Research data supporting this publication are available from the repository at located at https://www.scidb.cn/en/anonymous/QUpuZVEz.
Conflict of Interest declaration: The authors declare that they have NO affiliations with or involvement in any organisation or entity with any financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
The checklist of plants includes ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms, covering three phyla, five classes, 49 orders, 139 families, 709 genera and 2,382 species. It includes numerous Asteraceae, Gramineae, Rosaceae and Fabaceae along with statistical data on the number of species distributed in different regions. The dataset presented in this article provides important background information on vascular plants in the Huangshui River Basin and, therefore, plays a crucial role in the protection and management of plant resources in this region.
Alpine region, checklist, China, Huangshui River Basin, Qinghai Province, vascular plants
The Huangshui River is the largest tributary of the upper reaches of the Yellow River and is located in the transitional zone between the Loess Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with a drainage basin area accounting for 2.3% of the land area of Qinghai. The Huangshui River Basin is an important component of the ecosystem of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau with rich biodiversity (
Plant diversity has important ecological significance in ecosystems and higher plant diversity can enhance ecosystem stability (
As a result of comprehensive investigations of plant resources in the Huangshui River Basin, species are constantly being updated. In addition to the original records of some vascular plant taxa in the Huangshui River Basin that were merged after the classification revision, more information needs to be updated. This article is based on nine books on plant species in Qinghai Province. In addition, we conducted two field investigations on vascular plant communities in Xining City, Haidong City, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and the Huangshui River Basin from the summers of 2021 and 2022, complemented by an extensive literature search and verification (
This dataset can help researchers and environmental organisations to understand the plant diversity status of the Huangshui River Basin. By gaining insight into the types and distribution of plants, we can develop corresponding protection measures to prevent the extinction of endangered species and protect overall species diversity. This checklist facilitates the development of research and monitoring strategies and plays a crucial role in the protection and management of plant resources in the Huangshui River Basin.
To generate the checklist, we used the following publications: "Wild Medicinal Plants in Qinghai" (
The dataset consisted of 11 columns and could be divided into four parts: species information, geographic distribution information, data sources and national protection level. There were seven columns of species information, including Latin names for species, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera and nomenclature. The geographic distribution information, data sources and national protection levels each occupy one column (Appendix 1).
The dataset was organised as follows: (1) Deduplication of data. Based on the literature and field survey data, all data were integrated into the original checklist of vascular plants in the Huangshui River Basin, Qinghai Province and a table was generated. The information was checked using iPlant (http://www.iplant.cn), supplemented with the Chinese Field Herbarium (http://www.cfh.ac.cn). We combined the names of the orders, families, genera and species in the latest classification system, modified the Latin scientific names of the species in the table, removed duplicates and retained the unique order, family and genus information for relevance; (2) The classification system is updated. In this step, we redefined and systematically arranged the three major categories of ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms according to the corresponding systems. Ferns were classified according to the system of lycopods and ferns; gymnosperms were classified according to the system of gymnosperms; and angiosperms were classified according to the system of angiosperms; (3) Organisation of geographic distribution. Based on the literature mentioned above, we have improved the geographical distribution of the various species. We also retrieved specimen records using iPlant (http://www.iplant.cn) and the Chinese Field Herbarium (http://www.cfh.ac.cn); (4) Indication of the national protection level. According to the “List of National Key Protected Wild Plants in China” released by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, the species on the checklist were labelled with national protection levels.
The Huangshui River is a primary tributary of the upper Yellow River, originating from Haiyan County, Qinghai Province and is located in the transitional zone between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau. The total area of the Huangshui River Basin is about 16,100 km2. The climate is continental and the region shows significant terrain differences and a unique plant community. The Huangshui River Basin plays an important role in ensuring the biodiversity of Qinghai Lake and the surrounding wetlands, maintaining the water resource supply, supporting soil and water conservation and promoting local sustainable development.
36° 19′ and 36° 53′ Latitude; 100°59′ and 102°48′ Longitude.
General taxonomic coverage includes five classes, 49 orders, 139 families, 709 genera and 2,382 plant species. According to Flora of China, there are 301 families, 3,408 genera and 31,142 species of vascular plants in China. Vascular plants included in this checklist accounted for 8% of the total species of vascular plants in China.
This checklist records the species, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, nomenclature, geographic distribution information, data sources and national protection level. Each row represents a single species.
Column label | Column description |
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code | The identification number of plant species. |
canonical_name | The full scientific name of the plant species. |
author | Name of the person who named the plant. |
phylum | The full scientific name of the plant phylum. |
class | The full scientific name of the plant class. |
order | The full scientific name of the plant order. |
family | The full scientific name of the plant family. |
genus | The full scientific name of the plant genus. |
distribution | The distribution area of the plant. |
literature | The literature for recording the plant. |
national protection level | The national protection level of the plant. |
Statistical analyses of families and genera:
The dataset is presented in an Excel file. It includes 2,382 species belonging to five classes, 49 orders, 139 families and 709 genera (Fig.
The top 20 families with the highest numbers of species are Poaceae (63 genera and 232 species), Asteraceae (70 genera and 228 species), Rosaceae (29 genera and 181 species), Fabaceae (45 genera and 148 species), Ranunculaceae (21 genera and 111 species), Salicaceae (2 genera and 74 species), Brassicaceae (32 genera and 68 species), Apiaceae (24 genera and 58 species), Caryophyllaceae (15 genera and 55 species), Cyperaceae (8 genera and 53 species), Lamiaceae (23 genera and 51 species), Orobanchaceae (11 genera and 51 species), Gentianaceae (10 genera and 50 species), Orchidaceae (20 genera and 42 species), Polygonaceae (12 genera and 42 species), Amaranthaceae (20 genera and 39 species), Caprifoliaceae (8 genera and 37 species), Papaveraceae (9 genera and 37 species), Boraginaceae (11 genera and 30 species) and Asparagaceae (10 genera and 27 species).
Statistical analyses of protected wild plants:
According to the “List of National Key Protected Wild Plants in China” released by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, the checklist contains 38 wild plants that are protected in China. They belong to four classes, 14 orders, 17 families and 23 genera (Fig.
Geographical distribution pattern:
According to geographical distribution statistics, there are 985 species in the eastern district of Xining City, 987 species in the central district of Xining City, 984 species in the western district of Xining City, 983 species in the northern district of Xining City, 783 species in Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County, 479 species in Huangzhong District of Xining City, 412 species in Huangyuan County of Xining City, 910 species in Haidong Citizen and Hui and Tu Autonomous County, 1,110 species in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County of Haidong City, 908 species in Ledu District of Haidong City, 475 species in Ping'an District of Haidong City, 426 species in Hualong Hui Autonomous County, Haidong City, 1,024 species in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County and 381 species in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Fig.
The Huangshui River Basin is an important ecological barrier in north-western China. Although it accounts for only 2.3% of the total area of Qinghai Province, it contains nearly 60% of the population, industry and agriculture in this Province. Based on remote sensing images, researchers evaluated the ecological environment of the Huangshui River Basin and concluded that its conditions were average (
The Huangshui River Basin contains a variety of protected wild plant resources. Based on current knowledge, there are 38 species of national key-protected wild plants in 14 orders, 17 families and 22 genera. Many key protected wild plants in different countries are facing extinction, necessitating the implementation of suitable protection measures. Specialised wildlife and nature reserves can be established to create suitable habitats and protect the environment of endangered wild plants. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen habitat monitoring and population investigation of protected wild plants, providing the scientific basis for formulating protection measures. Education of the general public should be strengthened to raise awareness about the importance of national key protected wild plants.
Knowledge of the plant diversity of the Huangshui River Basin is crucial, as it improves our understanding of the current and future ecological environment and distribution of plant resources in this region. In this context, the checklist of vascular plant species provides a scientific basis for protecting the ecological environment, maintaining biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in this region. In addition, research on plant biodiversity can lead to the discovery of new plant resources and provide new research materials for fields such as agriculture, medicine and forestry.
We thank Shu-Hui Li, Fei-Xue Zhang, Qian Wang and Shuai-Peng Si for collecting data. This project was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32060385), the Project of Qinghai Science & Technology Department, China (2024-SF-102) and the funds of Climate Bridge Ltd (Shanghai).