A peer-reviewed open-access journal PhytoKeys 131: 91–113 (2019) Floristic patterns of Aberdare ranges forest Kenya 91 doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.131.38124 MONOGRAPH http://phytokeys.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity research Conservation priorities and distribution patterns of vascular plant species along environmental gradients in Aberdare ranges forest Solomon Kipkoech1,2,4, David Kimutai Melly1,2,4, Benjamin Watuma Mwema1,2,4, Geoffrey Mwachala4, Paul Mutuku Musili4, Guangwan Hu1,2,3, Qingfeng Wang1,2,3 1 CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China 2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei- jing 100049, China 3 Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, Hu- bei, China 4 East African Herbarium, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 45166 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Corresponding author: Guangwan Hu (
[email protected];
[email protected]) Academic editor: Stephen Blackmore | Received 10 July 2019 | Accepted 29 August 2019 | Published 16 September 2019 Citation: Kipkoech S, Melly DK, Mwema BW, Mwachala G, Musili PM, Hu G, Wang Q (2019) Conservation priorities and distribution patterns of vascular plant species along environmental gradients in Aberdare ranges forest. PhytoKeys 131: 91–113. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.131.38124 Abstract Distribution patterns of biodiversity and the factors influencing them are important in conservation and management strategies of natural resources. With impending threats from increased human population and global climatic changes, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive understanding of these patterns, more so in species-rich tropical montane ecosystems where little is known about plant diversity and distribution.