Diversity, Pattern, and Environmental Drivers of Climbing Plants in China
Haoran Wang, Guangfu Zhang

TL;DR
This study explores the diversity and distribution of climbing plants in China, finding that they are most diverse in the south and driven mainly by precipitation.
Contribution
The study provides the first regional-scale analysis of climber diversity and environmental drivers in China.
Findings
China has 3485 climbing plant species, with woody lianas and twining climbers being the most common.
Climber species richness decreases from south to north, with precipitation being the main driver.
Endemic and threatened climbers align closely with overall climber distribution patterns.
Abstract
As a distinct plant functional group, climbers critically sustain ecosystem structure and function globally. However, little is known about those in China. Here, we examine the diversity and distribution of Chinese climbers at a regional scale. First, climbing species data were collected. Then, Pearson correlations were conducted to assess relationships between environmental variables and climber species richness. Also, variation partitioning was used to reveal the pure and shared effects of four explanatory variable groups on species richness. A total of 3485 climber species (551 genera, 105 families) were recorded in China. Woody lianas dominated the climbing flora (64.73% of species) relative to herbaceous vines; twining represented the predominant mechanism (1829 species, 52.48%) relative to the others. Chinese climbers largely presented a pattern of species richness that decreased…
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Taxonomy
TopicsEcology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies · Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management · Wine Industry and Tourism
