Geographical Patterns in Functional Diversity of Chinese Terrestrial Vertebrates
Identifying priority regions is essential for effectively protecting biodiversity. China is one of the world’s megabiodiversity countries, but its biodiversity is seriously threatened by anthropogenic forces. Many studies have identified priority regions in China for conserving biodiversity. However...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/987 |
| _version_ | 1797465510272565248 |
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| author | Xinyuan Sun Na Huang Weiwei Zhou |
| author_facet | Xinyuan Sun Na Huang Weiwei Zhou |
| author_sort | Xinyuan Sun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Identifying priority regions is essential for effectively protecting biodiversity. China is one of the world’s megabiodiversity countries, but its biodiversity is seriously threatened by anthropogenic forces. Many studies have identified priority regions in China for conserving biodiversity. However, most of these studies focused on plants and mainly relied on metrics such as species richness. A comprehensive assessment of functional diversity hotspots of Chinese terrestrial vertebrates is still lacking. In this study, we collected distribution information and functional traits of terrestrial Chinese vertebrates. We calculated functional richness and identified hotspots. Then, we assessed the overlap between functional hotspots and hotspots identified based on species richness. We found that the mountains in southern China harbor the most hotspots. Southwestern China is the most important region for biodiversity conservation, as it harbors functional diversity and species richness hotspots of multiple taxa. Mismatches between functional diversity and species richness hotspots were found in all taxa. Moreover, the locations of functional hotspots are different among taxa, even within taxonomic units. For example, the functional diversity patterns of Rodentia, Chiroptera and other mammalian taxa are different. These results highlight the importance of considering distinct groups separately in conservative actions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:23:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-75ac10968f104ab7976fd099c498430d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:23:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-75ac10968f104ab7976fd099c498430d2023-11-24T08:06:19ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-11-01141198710.3390/d14110987Geographical Patterns in Functional Diversity of Chinese Terrestrial VertebratesXinyuan Sun0Na Huang1Weiwei Zhou2State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaIdentifying priority regions is essential for effectively protecting biodiversity. China is one of the world’s megabiodiversity countries, but its biodiversity is seriously threatened by anthropogenic forces. Many studies have identified priority regions in China for conserving biodiversity. However, most of these studies focused on plants and mainly relied on metrics such as species richness. A comprehensive assessment of functional diversity hotspots of Chinese terrestrial vertebrates is still lacking. In this study, we collected distribution information and functional traits of terrestrial Chinese vertebrates. We calculated functional richness and identified hotspots. Then, we assessed the overlap between functional hotspots and hotspots identified based on species richness. We found that the mountains in southern China harbor the most hotspots. Southwestern China is the most important region for biodiversity conservation, as it harbors functional diversity and species richness hotspots of multiple taxa. Mismatches between functional diversity and species richness hotspots were found in all taxa. Moreover, the locations of functional hotspots are different among taxa, even within taxonomic units. For example, the functional diversity patterns of Rodentia, Chiroptera and other mammalian taxa are different. These results highlight the importance of considering distinct groups separately in conservative actions.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/987functional diversityspecies richnessdiversity hotspotsChinese terrestrial vertebratesconservation |
| spellingShingle | Xinyuan Sun Na Huang Weiwei Zhou Geographical Patterns in Functional Diversity of Chinese Terrestrial Vertebrates Diversity functional diversity species richness diversity hotspots Chinese terrestrial vertebrates conservation |
| title | Geographical Patterns in Functional Diversity of Chinese Terrestrial Vertebrates |
| title_full | Geographical Patterns in Functional Diversity of Chinese Terrestrial Vertebrates |
| title_fullStr | Geographical Patterns in Functional Diversity of Chinese Terrestrial Vertebrates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Geographical Patterns in Functional Diversity of Chinese Terrestrial Vertebrates |
| title_short | Geographical Patterns in Functional Diversity of Chinese Terrestrial Vertebrates |
| title_sort | geographical patterns in functional diversity of chinese terrestrial vertebrates |
| topic | functional diversity species richness diversity hotspots Chinese terrestrial vertebrates conservation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/11/987 |
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