Identifying biodiversity hotspots and conservation gaps in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park based on macrofungi and plants perspectives

doi:10.17520/biods.2024081

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Predicting the suitable habitats for threatened species and identifying biodiversity hotspots are highly effective for developing scientifically sound biodiversity conservation strategies. However, current research on the identification of suitable habitats and biodiversity hotspots primarily focused on animals and plants, with little consideration for macrofungi.

Methods We used species lists and distribution information obtained from baseline surveys of macrofungi and plant diversity conducted on Hainan Island between 2013 and 2022, as well as resources from the GBIF public database, to screen macrofungi (16 species) and plants (45) that were threatened or in need of priority protection. Using the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model, the suitable habitats for individual target species within the national park were first predicted. Biodiversity hotspot areas for macrofungi and plants were identified through distribution map layers overlay, and the similarities and differences between them were compared. These results were then compared with the current boundaries of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park to evaluate the effectiveness and gaps in the protection of macrofungi and plants by the national park.

Results The results showed that the total area of biodiversity hotspot regions for macrofungi and plants across Hainan Island was 271.9 km² and 889.0 km², respectively, with an overlapping hotspot area of 214.0 km² (78.7%). Non-overlapping hotspot areas were 57.9 km² for macrofungi and 675.0 km² for plants. Macrofungi formed a substantial secondary hotspot region (2,412.8 km²) in the northeastern coastal area of Hainan Island, which was a cold spot region for plants. When considering both macrofungi and plants, the total hotspot area across Hainan Island was 601.0 km², with 572.8 km² (95.3%) located within the national park and 518.2 km² (86.2%) within the core protection zone of the national park, mainly concentrated in the mountain rainforest at an altitude of 700-1,200 m. There were 54.6 km² of hotspot areas within the general control zone of the national park and 28.2 km² of hotspot areas located outside the boundaries of the tropical rainforest national park in southeastern Hainan Island.

Conclusion Biodiversity conservation should be strengthened in these areas. Including macrofungi in biodiversity hotspot identification analysis can more effectively protect biodiversity and the integrity of ecosystems.

Key words: macrofungi, threatened species, maximum entropy model, biodiversity hotspots, conservation gaps

Yanli Wang, Ying Zhang, Chunlin Qi, Changda Zhang, Youhai Shi, Yanjun Du, Qiong Ding. Identifying biodiversity hotspots and conservation gaps in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park based on macrofungi and plants perspectives[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2024, 32(7): 24081.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2024081

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2024/V32/I7/24081

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Sampling points for macrofungi (red triangles) and threatened plants (green triangles) survey in Hainan Island (a), and the 1 km × 1 km grid for the field investigation of target species in the Diaoluoshan Sub-bureau areas (b)

Fig. 2 Contribution of environmental variables to macrofungi (a) and plants in Hainan Island (b) (show only the top ten environmental variables). Full names of the environment variables see Appendix 2.

Fig. 3 Diversity hotspots of macrofungi (a), plants (b), macrofungi-plants (c) (only Hainan Island with distribution of hotspots was intercepted), and the frequency distribution of hotspots by altitude (d). The red dashed line indicates the mean value line.

Table 1 Hot areas and their percentage occupation of target species in different zones of Hainan Island and Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park (NP)

	在海南岛内的面积 Area within Hainan Island (km²)	在国家公园核心保护区的面积/比例 Area/proportion in NP core protected zone (km²/%)	在国家公园一般控制区的面积/比例 Area/proportion in NP general control zone (km²/%)
真菌热点区域 Macrofungi hotspot area	271.9	199.6/73.4	15.2/5.6
植物热点区域 Plant hotspot area	889.0	695.7/78.3	97.6/10.9
真菌-植物热点区域 Macrofungi-plant hotspot area	601.0	518.2/86.2	54.6/9.1

Table 2 Comparison of hotspot areas for macrofungi and plants in Hainan Island

	植物独占区面积 Exclusive area of plant (km²)	大型真菌独占区面积 Exclusive area of macrofungi (km²)	重叠面积 Overlapping area (km²)
冷点区域 Coldspot area	16,695.0	8,769.5	1,754.7
次冷点区域 Sub-coldspot area	5,358.2	7,318.1	2,426.5
中等区域 Moderate area	4,428.2	10,840.3	106.2
次热点区域 Sub-hotspot area	2,134.4	2,305.0	107.8
热点区域 Hotspot area	675.0	57.9	214.0

Fig. 4 The distribution of hotspot and conservation gaps of all target species (61 species) on Hainan Island (only Hainan Island with distribution of hotspots was intercepted)

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