Endemism in the Flora of China—Studies on the Endemic Genera

China, under highly varied ecological conditions resulted from wide latitudinal and altitudinal ranges and from the adequate precipitation, has developed a very rich flora of great diversity. As far as flowering plants are concerned, there are 2980 genera, 214 of which, belonging to 64 families, are endemic. Among these endemic genera, there are 9 genera of taxads and conifers, 19 genera of monocots and others of dicots. Of the approximately 129 herbaceous endemic genera in the Chinese flora as a whole, about 22 (17%) are annual and 107 (83%) are biennial or perennial. In the present paper the ecological distribution, the nature of endemic genera and the centers of endemism are discussed. 1. Three types of endemic genera are distinguished, neoendemics, palaeoendemics and active epibiotics, The endemic genera in the flora of China are, for the most part, considered to be very old ones, and most of them are of temperate nature. 2. the degree of endemism in our 22 floristic regions is shown in Figure 1. The areas richest in endemic genera in the Chinese flora as a whole are the 13, 16 and 17 regions. The poorest are the 2, 4, 9 and 10 regions, and no one in the 1 and 3 regions These results on floristic richness are of general applicability. As shown in table 1, the difference in the degree of endemism among the seven Chinese floristic subkingdoms are most pronounced. 101 endemic genera are known to occur in one subkingdom, 72 to occur in two subkingdoms, and 3 to occur in four subkingdoms, only one genus widely distributed in five subkingdoms. However, there is no genus occurring in seven subkingdoms. The difference in the degree of endemism in each subkingdom reveals that the distribution of endemic genera is not well-distributed in the Chinese flora as a whole. Analysis of the vertical distribution of the 200 endemic genera of the Chinese flora bears out that there is no evident increase in endemism as a whole with altitude. 3. Three centers of endemism are found (Fig. 2). These are as follows: a). Eastern Sichuan-western Hubei center. b). Southeastern Yunnan-western Guangxi center. c). Western Sichuan-northwestern Yunnan center. The degree of endemism andcharacters of endemic genera in each center are discussed.     

Phytotaxonomy in the People’s Republic of China

As three of the members of the delegation of the Botanical Society of America, the authors participated in a 28-day tour of the People’s Republic of China in May and June, 1978. Botanical institutes and universities were visited in nine cities. A list of names and addresses of the collaborators and editors of family treatments for theFlora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae is supplemented with a bibliography of published floras and significant taxonomic literature issued primarily since the end of the Cultural Revolution. A few observations on herbaria and herbarium practices are included.     

Development of the “Third-Generation” Hybrid Rice in China

Rice is a major cereal crop for China. The development of the ‘‘three-line" hybrid rice system based on cytoplasmic male sterility in the 1970 s(first-generation) and the ‘‘two-line" hybrid rice system based on photoperiod-and thermo-sensitive genic male-sterile lines(second-generation)in the 1980 s has contributed significantly to rice yield increase and food security in China. Here we describe the development and implementation of the ‘‘third-generation" hybrid rice breeding system that is based on a transgenic approach to propagate and utilize stable recessive nuclear male sterile lines, and as such, the male sterile line and hybrid rice produced using such a system is nontransgenic. Such a system should overcome the intrinsic problems of the ‘‘first-generation" and‘‘second-generation" hybrid rice systems and hold great promise to further boost production of hybrid rice and other crops.     

Notes on the genus Byssosphaeria （Melanommataceae） from China

The genus Byssosphaeria from China was briefly reviewed based on specimen examinations and literature work. Taxonomic and nomenclatural problems are discussed. Among the previously recorded taxa of the genus, a new combination, Byssosphaeria hainanensis, is made and a new Chinese record, B. alnea, is reported. A key to the known species of the genus in China is provided.     

Conifer Woods of the Pliocene Age from Yunnan, China

The Tertiary floras play an integral role in understanding the biodiversity and interactions between climate and vegetation in Yunnan, China. The fossil spores, pollen grains, and leaves in this region have been investiaged intensively. In comparison, the woods have been studied relatively little. A large number of Pliocene wood specimens was collected from the opencast lignite coal mine of Hongxing situated in Changning County of Yunnan Province. Among the collection, Tsuga cf. dumosa (D. Don) Eichler and Pinus cf. armandii Franchet were identified based on wood structures. The subtle feature oftori extensions is reported in the wood of T. cf. dumosa. Considering the climatic requirements of modern T. dumosa and P.armandii, the two species of conifer described from Pliocene sediments probably grew in mountainous terrain at an elevation of approximately 2 300 m, in a cool and humid environment.     

A study of the genus Aleuritopteris Fée in China

As a genus, Aleuritopteris was first founded by Fée upon Pteris farinosa Forsk. in 1852. The genus had been ever since, however, practically forgotten, because it did not receive a general recognition among the fern students, who considered it either as Cheilanthes (Baker. 1897, Diels, 1900, C. Christensen 1905), or placed it in Pellaea (Hooker. 1858, Hope et Wright 1903). Ching (1941) first reinstated the status of Aleuritopteris and later followed by Copeland (1947), Panigrahi (1961, 1962.) and Pichi-Sermolli (1975). In recent years, however, some pteridologists (Nayar, 1962, K. Iwatsuki and others) are still against it as a distinct genus. Our recent study of the rich material on hand has shown Aleuritopteris to be a distinct genus, according to both the morphological characteristics and geographical distribution. We further propose the possibly evolutionary relationships of Aleuritopteris with other related genera of the Cheilanthoid ferns, as indicated by the above scheme. The genus is now represcented by a little more than 30 species, of which 25 areknown in China, among which 8 species and 3 varieties are diescribed for the first time.     

UN system efforts to support the response to AIDS in China

INTRODUCTION China has made considerable progress in the response to the AIDS epidemic in the past years, particularly in terms of commitment by the national leadership, the establish- ment of a supportive policy framework, improved under- standing of the…     

Wood-inhabiting marine fungi from the coast of Shandong, China Ⅲ

Five species of higher marine fungi were observed on the incubated drift and intertidal woods collected from the coasts of Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. Among them, Halosphaeriopsis was a genus newly recorded for China. Taxonomy and morphology of these species were discussed in this paper. The specimens were deposited in Mycology Herbarium at Qingdao Agricultural University （MHQAU）.     

The finding of the genus Clonostachys （Hyphomycetes） in China

Clonostachys phyllophila and Clonostachys rogersoniana were isolated from rhizosphere soil of Allium tuberosum in Chaoyang, Liaoning Province. It is the first report of the genus in China. The species was described morphologically and illustrated in this paper, the culture was stored in the Culture Collection of Liaoning Center of Culture Collection （LCCC）.     

An update of the vegetation classification in China北大核心CSCD

The vegetation classification in China was updated by referring to recent advances for vegetation classification worldwide and on the basis of our former paper Recognition and Proposal on the Vegetation Classification System of China (hereafter, "Recognition and Proposal"). In this revision, the criteria for vegetation classification were discussed and unified, and a quantified standard for high, medium, and low level units in a new hierarchical classification scheme was supplemented. Compared with the old classification scheme in "Recognition and Proposal", the units at the level of vegetation type were substantially changed. Finally, in order to improve mutual communication among international peers, a comparison was carried out between the new revised scheme and each of International Classification and Mapping of Vegetation of UNESCO, The National Vegetation Classification Standard of United States, and The Braun-Blanquet Classification Scheme.     

Quantifying the interannual litterfall variations in China’s forest ecosystems

凋落物是森林生物地化学循环和火险预测的关键参数。然而,森林凋落物如何随林龄变化仍不清楚。因此,量化森林生态系统凋落物年际变化对减少大尺度凋落物预测的不确定性至关重要。本论文基于中国人工林和次生林凋落物连续多年(≥2年)测定的数据集(N = 318),采用变异系数(CV)、变化百分比(V_P)和年际间比率量化凋落物的年际变化。研究结果表明,凋落物的年际变化随林龄增加(1–90年生)而呈下降趋势。其中,1–10年林龄的凋落物年际变化最大(平均CV = 23.51%,平均V_P= -28.59%~20.89%),其主要原因在于树木早期快速生长,即下一年与当年凋落物比率平均为1.20。11–40年林龄的凋落物年际变化逐渐减小,但CV平均值仍在18%左右,V_P平均值在-17.69%~21.19%之间。41–90年林龄的凋落物年际变化最小,CV平均值仅为8.98%,V_P平均值维持在8%左右。因此,大于40年林龄的凋落物量较低且稳定。这一结果与已有研究的认知不同：即当林龄大于30年、20年甚至15年时,森林凋落物量达到相对稳定。本研究结果将有助于我们深入理解森林凋落物生态学,并为大尺度碳收支和生物地化学循环模型提供基础。     

Modifiers of the temperature–mortality association in Shanghai, China

Various factors can modify the health effects of temperature. Prior findings about modifiers are inconsistent, and such studies have been conducted mostly in developed countries. We conducted a time-series analysis to examine the modifying effect of gender, age and education on the association between temperature and daily mortality in Shanghai, China, using 4 years (2001–2004) of daily data. A natural spline model was used to analyze the data. Elderly subjects were found to be more vulnerable to temperature health effects compared with younger people. We observed no significant modifying effect of gender or education level. These findings may provide useful information for local governments seeking to take steps to protect vulnerable sub-populations.     

Analysis of Grassland Vegetation of the Southwest Heilongjiang Steppe （China） Using the Power Law

In 1997, we conducted a vegetation survey in three semi-arid natural grasslands （steppes） with different livestock grazing intensities in Southwest Heilongjiang Province, China, The dominant grassland species was the grass Stipa baicalensis Roshev. Grasslands with light, intermediate, and heavy grazing intensities were located 10, 5, and 2 km from a village, respectively. Villagers use the steppe to raise cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. Each of the three grasslands was surveyed by placing 100 quadrats （50 cm×50 cm） along a 50 m line transect. Each quadrat was divided into four equal areas （25 cm×25 cm; S-quadrats） and all plant species occurring in each of these smaller areas were identified and recorded. These data were summarized into frequency distributions and the percentage of S-quadrats containing a given species and the variance of each species were estimated. The power law was applied to these estimates. The power law was used to evaluate the spatial heterogeneity and frequency of occurrence for each species in the grassland community. The lightly grazed grassland exhibited high spatial heterogeneity （caused by large plant size）, the highest species diversity, and a high occurrence of S. baicalensis. In contrast, the heavily grazed grassland exhibited high spatial heterogeneity （caused by patchy populations of small plant size）, low species diversity, and a low occurrence of S. baicalensis. We judged that the heavily grazed grassland was overgrazed and exclusion of livestock from the degraded areas is necessary for recovery.     

Troubles under the water: Sino‐japanese conflict of sovereignty on the continental shelf in the East China sea

Abstract

The discovery and production of offshore hydrocarbon resources are significant for both China (PRC) and Japan in meeting energy requirements for higher economic development. Because the claims of both countries to the continental shelf in the East China Sea overlap, there is a maritime conflict which hinders cooperation in the Asian region. The paper briefly describes the geographical characteristics of the East China Sea. It then dwells on the development of the legal criteria for delimiting continental shelf boundaries by examining major cases of international adjudication and both the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf and the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. After presenting both countries’ positions the author attempts to review and analyze certain options which can be employed in resolving the sovereignty conflict.     

Can the Lilliput Effect be detected in the brachiopod faunas of South China following the terminal Ordovician mass extinction?

In the immediate aftermath of global extinctions, organisms were normally much smaller than those prior to these events. This ‘Lilliput Effect’ can be subdivided into two types: 1) a specific type, following the original definition of the effect which targets species-level taxa associated with inhospitable environments, and 2) a more general type, related to the reactions of higher-rank taxa above the species-level. The body sizes of brachiopods from South China through the Ordovician and Silurian transition (Late Katian, Hirnantian, and earliest Rhuddanian) are compared at generic, superfamilial, ordinal, and class levels. The results indicate that the body sizes of the taxa of lower rank (e.g. genus-level) are highly variable within these different intervals. The type of evidence for the Lilliput Effect through the end Ordovician mass extinction is thus quite different from that of the end Permian mass extinction probably reflecting differences in the intensity of these two major bioevents. However, the relationships between the contrasting trends in body-size change of some taxa of higher rank (e.g. at the ordinal-level) and the relative dominance of these taxa in the latest Ordovician and earliest Silurian suggest that the brachiopods of the two major Ordovician groups, the strophomenoids and orthoids, adopted different survival strategies during and immediately after the crisis from those of the pentamerides and rhynchonellides, that were common in Silurian assemblages.