Abstract:

Aims: Wild Plant with Extremely Small Populations (WPESP) are plant species that are primarily at the risk of extinction and require urgent protection. It is of great practical significance to protect and recover WPESP through researching species importance value (IV) and competition patterns.
Methods: Based on the extensive field survey, we analyzed the species importance value and improved Hegyi competition index of the seven WPESP in Hubei Province, including: Pinus fenzeliana var. dabeshanensis, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Michelia wilsonii, Berchemiella wilsonii, Sinojackia dolichocarpa, S. huangmeiensis and Acer miaotaiense.
Results: The results of the importance value indicated that M. glyptostroboides and S. dolichocarpa were the dominant species in the natural communities with a high importance value and a low variable coefficient in their respective communities, S. huangmeiensis and A. miaotaiense were the sub-dominant species with a relatively higher importance value, and P. fenzeliana var. dabeshanensis, M. wilsonii and B. wilsonii were the accessory species in the community with a relatively low importance value. According to the improved Hegyi competition index, there are big differences in competition density and source of competition among seven WPESP in Hubei Province. Pinus fenzeliana var. dabeshanensis, M. wilsonii, B. wilsonii and S. huangmeiensis are primarily subject to interspecific competition while M. glyptostroboide, S. dolichocarpa and A. miaotaiense are primarily subjected to intraspecific competition.
Conclusion: The interspecific and intraspecific competitions of WPESP should be fully considered before implementing conservation measures so that more precise conservation measures can be taken.

Key words: Wild Plant with Extremely Small Populations, improved Hegyi competition index, conservation, importance value, competition, dominance