Abstract:

Establishing nature reserves to protect species and their habitats, is the most direct and effective approach for biodiversity conservation. Conducting investigations of the important protected species and assessing their in situ conservation status are of important guiding significance for reasonable conservation and effective management within a region. In this paper, based on the literature and field investigations, we analyzed the distribution and protection status of the key protected wild plants in Shanxi Province. The results showed that there were 57 key protected wild plants in Shanxi, 49 of which were distributed in nature reserves, and the in situ conservation rate was 86%. The nature reserves in Jincheng, Yuncheng, Linfen, and Yangquan cities contained the most protected wild plant species. Cumulative screening was used to select the six nature reserves with the highest contributions. The cumulative protection contribution rate of these six reserves was 86%. In general, the key protected wild plants are under comprehensive protection in Shanxi. However, there are still some protection gaps, and these identified gap areas will provide a scientific basis for further planning and development of nature reserves in Shanxi Province.

Key words: key protected wild plants, nature reserve, in situ conservation, protection gaps