Pak. J. Bot., 48(3): 1027-1034, 2016. FLORISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE WANDA MOUNTAIN IN NORTH EASTERN CHINA HONGFRNG WANG1,2, QINGGUI WANG1,2*, LIJIAN XU1, GUOYONG YAN1,2, ZHI ZHANG1, YAJUAN XING1,3*, LIBO ZHAO1, LIHUA WANG4, SHIJIE HAN4 AND JINGHUA YU4 1College of Agricultural Resource and Environment, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China 2College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China 3Institute of Forestry Sciences of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin 150081, China 4Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China *Corresponding author’s e-mail: qgwang1970@ 163.com; Tel.: +86-451-86609487; Fax: +86-451-86609313 Abstract The plants of the Wanda Mountain area were investigated between 2009 to 2013. The results show that Wanda Mountain has 95 families of seed plants distributed in 334 genera and 705 species. A geographical component analysis shows that in addition to a small number of cosmopolitan species, cold, temperate and tropical species account for 14.9%, 77.3% and 4.4% of the total species, respectively, indicating that the flora of the Wanda Mountains exhibits a significant temperate nature and includes a small number of tropical components and certain cold components. In addition, the Wanda Mountains show a remarkable level of endemism and are geographically related to other regions in East Asia, particularly Japan. Furthermore, the Wanda Mountains present a complicated species composition, with a total of 14 distribution patterns and 10 variants. The coefficient of similarity between the flora of the Wanda Mountain area and the flora of the Changbai Mountain area is 43.1%, and the coefficient of similarity between the flora of the Wanda Mountain area and the flora of the Lesser Xingan Mountain area is 49.2%, indicating that the plants of the Wanda Mountain area are more common to those of the Lesser Xingan Mountain area. Key words: Flora, Seed plant, Coefficient of similarity, Geographical components, Comparison of the similarity. Introduction the vegetation of these Mountains have been repeatedly altered by volcanic magma flows (Zhou, 1997). The Since the 1950s, the numbers and quality of forests in formation of the floristic composition of the Changbai China have been decreasing at an accelerating rate (Li, Mountains resulted from reshaping multiple times, and 2004), and the habitats of more than 60% of species have the flora of these Mountains came into existence been threatened (Fu et al., 1995). Under such approximately during the Tertiary (Fu et al., 1995). These circumstances, fully understanding data on floristic units volcanic eruptions had no impact on the plants of the has become the chief task in the conservation of plant Wanda Mountain area, located in the north of the diversity (Takhtajan, 1986). Changbai Mountains, and the floras of the Wanda As an important component of the floristic region of Mountains and the Changbai Mountains have undergone northeastern China, the flora of the Wanda Mountain area different development processes. In addition, differences is generally considered a part of the flora of the Changbai in geological location, altitude and climate also resulted in Mountains and has never been fully studied. In past differences between the floristic compositions of the decades, the Wanda Mountain area has drawn attention Wanda Mountains and the Changbai Mountains. The from very few researchers, and there has been no Changbai Mountain area, located in the south, presents a important plant conservation area established in this warmer climate and higher precipitation (800-1,800 mm) region. Even though the Wanda Mountains are generally (Fu et al., 1995). There is more plant exchange between considered to be part of the Changbai Mountains (Liu, the Changbai Mountains and the floristic region of 1955; Mitsuzo, 1971), the formation of the geology and northern China situated at relatively low latitudes. The the flora of the Wanda Mountains are different from that Wanda Mountain area, located in the north, presents a of the Changbai Mountains. Geologically, the Wanda colder climate and relatively lower precipitation (500-800 Mountain area was formed through the development of mm) (Jiang et al., 2005). There is an even greater the Mesozoic deep-sea sedimentary strata and is the only difference in altitude between the Wanda Mountains and outcrop area composed of a Mesozoic deep-water mobile the Changbai Mountains: the average altitude of the sedimentary formation in northern China; in addition, the Wanda Mountains is only approximately 300 m, and the Wanda Mountain region presents a very complex highest peak of the Wanda Mountains is 854 m (Jiang et environment of sedimentary materials (Zhang & Zhang, al., 2005), whereas the altitudes of the most of the 1999). In the Mesozoic, the interactions (subductions and Changbai Mountain area range from 700 m to 1,600 m, collisions) between the Nadanhada area and the Pacific and the highest peak of the Changbai Mountains is 2,750 Plate formed the Wanda Mountains (Li & Zhang, 1997). m (Fu et al., 1995). In contrast, the main body of the Changbai Mountains However , we still do not fully comprehend the was formed from volcanic eruptions in the Oligocene of basic data on many important floristic units, such as the the Paleogene period at the earliest (Wei et al., 2005). Wanda Mountain area, located in northeastern China. It There is a significant difference in the geological is utterly necessary to comprehensively and environment between the Wanda Mountains and the systematically investigate the Wanda Mountains as an Changbai Mountains. In terms of the flora, due to the independent floristic unit to conserve plant germplasm multiple volcanic eruptions of the Changbai Mountains, resources and study the origin of the flora of this region. 1028 HONGFRNG WANG ET AL., Materials and Methods m×1 m was set up within each of the quadrats that had been surveyed to obtain information on shrub plants (there were Site description: The Wanda Mountains, located in the east a total of 10 quadrats; after each quadrat was delineated, a of Heilongjiang Province, China, at the northernmost end photograph of each quadrat was obtained from a position of the Changbai Mountains, comprising an area of 78,400 vertically above the quadrat; each photograph covered the km2. The Nadanhada Range is the main range of the Wanda entire area of the corresponding small quadrat, these Mountains. The mountain body of the Wanda Mountains is photographs provided an important reference for the composed of ancient granites. The northeast-southwest- subsequent correction of coverage estimates); the trending Wanda Mountains extend from the Raoli River in herbaceous plants within these 1 m×1 m small quadrats the northwest to the Wusuli River in the east to Guokui were then surveyed to determine their species and parameters such as their abundance, height and coverage. Mountain in the south. The Wanda Mountains are the watershed between the Raoli River and the Muling River. Floristic analysis: An inventory of the plants of the Wanda Shending Mountain, the main peak of the Wanda Mountains was made through field observations, specimen Mountains, is at an altitude of 831 m and is located at the examinations (the herbaria whose specimens were northernmost end of the mountains. Laotudingzi, the examined included the Herbarium of the Institute of Botany highest point of the Wanda Mountains, is located in the of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (PE), the middle section of the Wanda Mountains and is at an altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Museum of Biological Specimens of of 854 m. The forest region of the Wanda Mountains is a the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology of the CAS relatively flat low-hill region. Brown forest soil is the main (HNWP), the Herbarium of the Kunming Institute of soil type in the Wanda Mountains. The thicknesses of the Botany of the CAS (KUN), the Herbarium of the Shenyang soil layer generally ranges from 30 cm to 50 cm, and the Institute of Applied Ecology of the CAS (IFP), the South soil presents moderate fertility. The Wanda Mountains China Botanical Garden Herbarium (IBSC), the Herbarium exhibit an oceanic temperate monsoon climate with warm of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the and humid summers and cold and dry winters. January is CAS (XJBI), the Herbarium of the Chengdu Institute of the coldest month, with a monthly average temperature of - Biology of the CAS (CDBI), the Herbarium of the Lushan 19.4˚C. July is the hottest month, with a monthly average Botanical Garden of the CAS (LBG), the Specimen temperature of 21.1˚C. The annual precipitation is 500~800 Collection Room of the Department of Biology of the mm, and the precipitation is concentrated from June to Henan Normal University (HENU), the Herbarium of the August. The annual average temperature is 2.4˚C; the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the CAS absolute highest temperature is 36.6˚C, and the absolute (HITBC), the Herbarium of the Guangxi Institute of Botany lowest temperature is -42˚C. The frostless period lasts for of the CAS (IBK) and the Herbarium of the Guangxi Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science 125~150 days. The annual accumulated temperature is (GXMI)) and literature reviews (the literature that we approximately 2,300~3,000˚C (Jiang 2005). examined include the Flora of China (Wu et al., 2003), the Flora of Heilongjiang (Zhou, 1986), Key of Plants of Experimental treatment: From 2009 to 2013, we Northeastern China (Fu, 1995), the Flora Plantarum conducted a 5-year-long continuous investigation of the Herbacearum Chinae Boreali–Orientalis (Liu, 1959) and plants of the Wanda Mountain area to comprehensively and the Silva of Heilongjiang (Zhou, 1986). The standard systematically analyze the seed plant flora of the Wanda classification for the areal types of the families and genera Mountains.