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Table of Content
    Volume 29 Issue 1
    20 January 2021
    The western black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) is listed as a critically endangered species by IUCN. Its global population size is about 1,100–1,400, of which more than 90% are distributed in Yunnan Province, China. The monitoring of the western black crested gibbon generally starts with acoustic monitoring, which is the direct and effective way to obtain the information of their populations (for details see pages 109117 of this issue). The picture shows the male and female western black crested gibbon. (Photograph credit: Xinping Management Bureau of the Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve)
      
    Original Papers: Plant Diversity
    Effects of soil nutrients on reproductive traits of invasive and native annual Asteraceae plants
    Ya Wang, Weiqian Wang, Qinke Wang, Xiaoxia Li, Yan Liu, Qiaoqiao Huang
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  1-9.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020212
    Abstract ( 1078 )   HTML ( 28 )   PDF (1294KB) ( 591 )   Save
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    Aims: Understanding the reproductive strategy of invasive plants is fundamental to identify the mechanisms of plant invasion and success. In order to understand how soil nutrient conditions influence reproductive capacity in native and invasive plants, and specifically whether nutrient addition increases the reproductive capacity more for the invasive plants, we conducted a common garden experiment.
    Method: In low and high soil nutrient conditions we measured and compared the reproductive traits of annual Asteraceae plants including the invasive species (Praxelis clematidea, Ageratum conyzoides, and Bidens pilosa) and native species (Vernonia cinerea, Emilia sonchifolia, and Eclipta prostrata).
    Results: We found that nutrient addition increased the flowering plant height, plant height, aboveground biomass, single seed weight, total inflorescence number, seed number per inflorescence, total seed number and total seed weight of all Asteraceae plants, and also advanced the flowering time and extended the duration of flowering. Nutrient addition increased the flowering plant height and single seed weight of invasive species more than those of native species, and in some invasive species (P. clematidea and A. conyzoides) it increased the reproductive capacity compared to some native sepcies (V. cinerea and Eclipta prostrata). The total seed number and total seed weight of B. pilosa and Emilia sonchifolia were small under both low and high soil nutrient conditions. The total seed number of the native Eclipta prostrata was higher than that of the three invasive sepcies under low soil nutrient condition, and its total seed weight was higher than that of the three invasive sepcies.
    Conclusion: These results indicate that high soil nutrients promote the reproductive capacity of some but not all invasive plants compared with native plants.

    Species composition and community classification of the 20-ha tropical seasonal rainforest dynamics monitoring plot in the Naban River, Yunnan
    Guoshan Shi, Feng Liu, Dian Chen, Yun Deng, Luxiang Lin
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  10-20.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020138
    Abstract ( 1276 )   HTML ( 56 )   PDF (2562KB) ( 775 )   Supplementary Material   Save
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    Aims: The large forest dynamics monitoring plot is an important research platform for answering key questions in ecology, such as species coexistence and community succession. This study reported the tree species composition and community types of the 20-ha tropical seasonal rainforest dynamics monitoring plot in the Naban River, Yunnan, which will lay a foundation for the study on species coexistence mechanism for tropical seasonal rainforests, and provide scientific basis for the management and protection of tropical seasonal rainforests.
    Methods: According to the protocol set forth by CTFS-ForestGEO, a 20-ha tropical seasonal rainforest dynamics monitoring plot was established by the Administration Bureau of the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve and the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of Chinese Academy of Sciences between 2016-2017. Here, we analyzed the species composition and classified community types for this large forest dynamics monitoring plot, where all free-standing woody plants with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 1 cm were tagged, measured, and identified to the species level.
    Results: There were 59,498 individuals with DBH ≥ 1cm belonging to 296 species, 197 genera, and 63 families. There were 15 species designated as common with individuals numbering more than 1,000 and 126 rare species with fewer than 20 individuals in the plot. At the family level, tropical-associated families were dominant, accounting for 65.08% of the total family; temperate-associated families only accounted for 17.46% of the total family. At the genus level, the tropical-associated genera were dominant, accounting for 88.32% of the total genus; temperate genera only accounted for 10.66%. Elevation and convexity are the key topographical factors underlying the formation of community types in this plot. There were four distinct associations identified among 500 quadrates (20 m × 20 m) as follows: (1) Cipadessa baccifera + Mallotus philippensis - Harpullia cupanioides + Pometia pinnata Association; (2) Trigonostemon thyrsoideus + Boehmeria glomerulifera - Acrocarpus fraxinifolius + Pometia pinnata Association; (3) Aporusa yunnanensis + Turpinia pomifera - Castanopsis mekongensis + Phoebe puwenensis Association; (4) Ficus cyrtophylla + Leea compactiflora - Sladenia celastrifolia + Pometia pinnata Association.
    Conclusions: The main vegetation type is tropical seasonal rainforest and the flora belongs to the type of tropical north edge in the 20-ha tropical seasonal rainforest dynamics monitoring plot in the Naban River, Yunnan. In the plot, there are four forest community types, on which the topography plays a key role.

    Phylogenetic structure of Vitex negundo var. heterophylla shrub communities and Spiraea trilobata shrub communities in the North Taihang Mountains
    Lei Dong, Jing Wang, Yonggang Liu, Zhiping Zhao, Xiangcheng Mi, Ke Guo
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  21-31.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020192
    Abstract ( 1279 )   HTML ( 55 )   PDF (1491KB) ( 542 )   Supplementary Material   Save
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    Aims: Shrublands are one of the most important ecosystems in Taihang Mountains region of China. Shrub communities play an important role in maintaining biodiversity, providing ecosystem services, and promoting ecological security in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
    Methods: We explored differences in community assembly and associated environmental factors for two of the most representative shrub communities in the region, Vitex negundo var. heterophylla and Spiraea trilobata, by assessing their net relatedness index (NRI) and using multiple regression. We further used principal coordinates of phylogenetic structure (PCPS) to determine the key phylogenetic nodes giving rise to the community phylogenetic structure.
    Results: We found that the phylogenetic structures of these two shrub communities were significantly different despite no detectable difference in their species diversity. The S. trilobata community showed significant phylogenetic overdispersion, whereas the V. negundo var. heterophylla community showed no significant phylogenetic structure, despite exhibiting a greater degree of clustering degree than S. trilobata community. Community assembly of S. trilobata shrubs was driven by niche differentiation. By contrast, habitat filtering together with niche differentiation drove community assembly of V. negundo var. heterophylla shrubs. Habitat filtering related to drought stress was the main reason for the increase in phylogenetic clustering of V. negundo var. heterophylla shrubs. The PCPS two-dimensional ranking results showed that the phylogenetic clustering trend of the V. negundo var. heterophylla shrub community was mainly attributed to the lack of distantly related groups, such as Rosales and Fagales, while the species comprising the S. trilobata shrub community contained more phylogenetic clades.
    Conclusion: Our results suggest that habitat filtering was not a major driver of shrub community assembly in the Taihang Mountains region and that water limitation was an important factor in determining regional community phylogenetic structure of shrubland ecosystems.

    Original Papers: Animal Diversity
    Changes in fish diversity and assemblage during comprehensive restoration of the Suzhou River in Shanghai
    Hongchang Yu, Baoshuai Bi, Wenqiao Tang, Ya Zhang, Hongyi Guo
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  32-42.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020067
    Abstract ( 1751 )   HTML ( 34 )   PDF (3393KB) ( 1253 )   Supplementary Material   Save
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    Aim: The Suzhou River, once a typical urban polluted river, flows through the central area of Shanghai. At the end of 1990s, the local government began to carry out the comprehensive treatment of the river environment. The water quality and ecosystem of the river have gradually improved. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the changes in fish diversity and assemblage during the comprehensive restoration of the Suzhou River in Shanghai in the past two decades.
    Methods: The paper sampled 13 sections along the Suzhou River in June (summer) and September (autumn) in 2019. Some statistical methods, such as diversity index, relative importance index (IRI), abundance-biomass comparison curve (ABC curve) and cluster analysis, are used to analyze the characteristic parameters of fish diversity and assemblage.
    Results: A total of 10,102 fish samples were collected, comprising 45 species belonging to 8 orders, 15 families, and 37 genera. In summer and autumn, there were 36 species of fish in the upper reaches, 12 and 15 species, respectively, in the lower reaches. From upstream to downstream, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H'), the Margalef richness index (D), and the Simpson dominance index (C) showed gradual decreases. Relative importance index (IRI) showed that the common dominant species of the upper reaches in summer and autumn was Pseudobrama simoni, and the lower reaches were Carassius auratus and Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, respectively. The abundance-biomass comparison curve (ABC curve) revealed that the fish assemblage of the whole river was unstable, especially downstream in summer. Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional ordination, based on species and quantity, indicated that fish assemblage structure could be divided into two groups, e.g. upstream group I and downstream group II. Pseudobrama simoni, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, Carassius auratus, Pelteobagrus nitidus and Acheilognathus chankaensis were the main discriminating species causing the differences between the two groups.
    Conclusions: Compared with the 43 species in 2001 and 28 species in 2006, the species of fishes showed an increase, especially downstream. This trend of fish migration from upstream to downstream may indicate that water quality differences between the upper reaches and lower reaches is narrowing. The reduction of differences in the fish assemblage between upstream and downstream and the appearances of Culter alburnus, Cultrichthys erythropterus, Abbottina rivularis, and Rhinogobius giurinus in the lower reaches are ecological signs of the comprehensive restoration effects in the Suzhou River.

    Original Papers: Microbial Diversity
    Biocrusts impact niche separation of ammonia oxidizing microorganisms in the Gurbantunggut Desert, northwestern China
    Xin Liu, Xiaoying Rong, Yuanming Zhang
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  43-52.  doi:10.17520/biods.2019415
    Abstract ( 1090 )   HTML ( 20 )   PDF (1030KB) ( 650 )   Supplementary Material   Save
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    Aims: Biological soil crusts (Biocrusts) are complex assemblages of lichens, bryophytes, cyanobacteria, fungi, and heterotrophic microbial organisms in the top few centimetres of desert soils. Biocrusts perform important ecological roles in the nitrogen cycle of desert ecosystems. In desert ecosystems, water sources are vital, and the seasonal melting snow in early spring resurrects biocrusts in the Gurbantunggut desert and begins nitrogen fixation. However, little is known about how biocrusts impact nitrifier distributions across the landscape, specifically ammonia oxidation archaea (AOA) and ammonia oxidation bacteria (AOB).
    Methods: We used fluorescent quantative PCR (qPCR) methods to characterize AOA and AOB amoA gene abundances at different soil depths (0-2, 2-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm) in biocrust and biocrust-removal soils. Desert nitrification potential and soil physicochemical parameters were researched to understand biocrust impacts on the desert soil nitrogen cycle.
    Results: The AOA amoA gene abundance was remarkably larger than that of AOB across all soil samples. ANOVA results showed that biocrusts significantly affected AOA and AOB amoA gene abundance (P < 0.01) while PNR results indicated that biocrust removal significantly reduced soil nitrification potential (P < 0.001), which confirmed that biocrusts play an important role in regulating nitrogen transformation in the Gurbantunggut desert. A redundancy analysis confirmed that soil moisture and NH4 +-N were the key environmental factors affecting niche separation of AOA and AOB in desert soil.
    Conclusion: Biocrusts coupled with oil moisture and NH4+-N affected differential distribution of ammonia oxidizing microorganisms in the temperate desert in the early spring.

    Response of soil bacterial community characteristics to alpine meadow degradation
    Shixiong Li, Yanlong Wang, Yuqin Wang, Yali Yin
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  53-64.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020137
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    Aim: This study aims to clarify the response of soil bacterial species composition, pattern, and functional structure to a range of grassland degradation in alpine meadows.
    Methods: Degraded alpine meadows at five stages (including non-degraded, light-degraded, moderate-degraded, severe-degraded, and extreme-degraded) were selected in 2017 by the classification standard in the Three-River-Source. Four different plots at each degraded stages were set as replications, and the area of each plot is about 80 m2. Soil microbial characteristics were analyzed by high-throughput gene detection, and the soil physical and chemical properties were analyzed by conventional methods.
    Results: Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia were the dominant bacteria in alpine meadow soil, accounting for 16%‒18%、9%‒12%、12%‒14%、23%‒29% and 11%‒12%of the total soil bacteria abundance, respectively. The soil bacterial species compositions changed substantially with increasing grassland degradation: Proteobacteria abundance decreased, while Acidobacteria and Planctomycetes abundance increased significantly with increasing degradation. Furthermore, the number of taxa (at the family level) differed across the diverse soil layers in degraded alpine meadows. Grassland degradation had no effect on bacterial diversity, as measured by the Chao1 index, but alpine medow that were lightly degraded increased bacterial diversity, as measured by the Simpson index. Soil bacterial diversity, as measured by the Shannon-Wiener index, was greatest in severe-degraded grasslands. The Faprotax functions were mainly composed by the processes of Chemoheterotrophy, nitrification, nitrite oxidation, and sulfur metabolism. Grassland degradation altered the carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, iron and manganese cycles, which were mediated by microorganisms. Severe and extreme degradation increased the bacterial ammonia-oxidizing function, and decreased the functions of sulfide, nitrite oxidation, and ureolysis. Across the gradient of grassland degradation, the bacteriological Chemoheterotrophy, aromatic compounds degradation, and the denitrification functions all initially decreased before subsequently increasing; moderate stages of degradation stage represented turning points of the bacterial community in terms of ecological functional structure changes.
    Conclusion: Alpine meadow degradation altered the soil bacterial community and functional structures. The main driving factors for differences in soil bacterial community and functional structures were soil moisture content, pH, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, total potassium, and the ratio of available nitrogen and phosphorus.

    Species diversity of myxomycetes in Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve, Gansu Province
    Xinlei Wei, Shu Li, Wenjun Dou, Bao Qi, Qi Wang, Yu Li
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  65-71.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020050
    Abstract ( 1151 )   HTML ( 34 )   PDF (1354KB) ( 1387 )   Supplementary Material   Save
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    Aims: As indispensable biological resources, myxomycetes play an important role in forest ecosystems. We studied the diversity of myxomycetes and the factors affecting myxomycetes community composition and diversity in the forests of Northwest China.
    Methods: We collected myxomycetes from multiple locations in Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve of Gansu province continuously over two years. Specimens were identified by morphological features. Principal component analysis method was used to analyze the relationship between substrates and myxomycetes.
    Results: In total, we collected 826 specimens of myxomycetes belonged to four orders, five families, 22 genera, and 71 species. Among them, 30 species were newly recorded in Gansu province. We analyzed each species’ distribution and found that nine species, including Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa, were widely distributed in the natural reserve. A total of 58 species, including 38 endemic species, were recorded in coniferous forests, compared to 33 total and 13 endemic species that were recorded in broadleaved forests. The diversity of myxomycetes did not vary significantly over elevation. A principal components analysis showed that the diversity of myxomycetes was richest in rotten wood, and that the species composition of myxomycetes on woody substrates was significantly different from that on herbal substrates.
    Conclusion: Our results suggests that substrate and vegetation type in montane forests are both important factors affecting myxomycetes community composition and diversity in Qilian Mountain Natural Reserve of Gansu Province.

    Reviews
    Plant strategies for nitrogen acquisition and their effects on exotic plant invasions
    Simiao Sun, Jixin Chen, Weiwei Feng, Chang Zhang, Kai Huang, Ming Guan, Jiankun Sun, Mingchao Liu, Yulong Feng
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  72-80.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020072
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    Aim: Available nitrogen is a major factor that influences invasion success of exotic plants. However, our understanding behind the effects of different forms of soil nitrogen on exotic plant invasions remains inconclusive. To elucidate invasion mechanisms of exotic plants in context of soil nitrogen, we reviewed nitrogen form preferences of invasive plants and their effects on invasiveness in comparison to native plant strategies.
    Progresses: Different plants have different nitrogen form acquisition strategies, including preference and plasticity, which may be associated with long-term adaption to characteristics of soil nitrogen form and occur at different scales. In addition, some plants can modulate soil nitrogen forms, and respond to altered soil nitrogen. Many invasive plants succeed in disturbed habitats where nitrate is the dominant form of soil nitrogen, as they prefer nitrate and compete for nitrate with co-occurring native plants. Whereas ammonium-preferring invasive plants may accumulate ammonium in soil by inhibiting soil nitrification, thereby facilitating their own growth and inhibiting native plant growth, further contributing to invasion success. However, plant strategies for nitrogen acquisition are not invariable and can be influenced by many biotic and abiotic factors and interactions.
    Prospects: In future research we should study plant nitrogen acquisition strategies along with their ecological and evolutionary mechanisms in conjunction with ecosystem and environmental factors, especially plasticity of nitrogen form utilization and its relationship with invasiveness of exotic plants. In addition, mycorrhizal fungi may also affect plant utilization of different nitrogen forms, which is also worth studying.

    Competition and coexistence among terrestrial mammalian carnivores
    Zhilin Li, Li’an Duo, Sheng Li, Tianming Wang
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  81-97.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020359
    Abstract ( 1576 )   HTML ( 86 )   PDF (1392KB) ( 2177 )   Save
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    Background & Aim: Carnivores play an important role in maintaining the structural and functional stability of ecosystems. Increasing anthropogenic pressure has resulted in dramatic population decline and habitat degradation of carnivores worldwide. Exploring regional coexistence mechanisms of carnivore populations is important to understand how mammal communities assemble, along with protecting and managing endangered species. This review summarizes the interactions of terrestrial carnivores along three dimensions (i.e., spatial, temporal and dietary), of their ecological niches, analyzing the influence of factors such as body size, prey composition, environmental difference, human disturbance and climate change on the coexistence of carnivores based on more than 100 related studies.
    Review Results: We put forward the problems to be addressed for current study of carnivore coexistence. This study demonstrates that there is no single theoretical explanation for carnivore coexistence through niche separation. Prey, habitat and human disturbance may mediate the intensity of carnivore interactions and then influence their coexistence directly and indirectly. We also emphasize the critical role of co-adaptation for carnivore coexistence. Carnivore coexistence is a relatively stable state of long-term evolution, which needs to be examined dynamically.
    Perspectives: We should correctly understand the differences and connections between niche overlap and coexistence. Besides niche separation, carnivores’ life history, movement and behavior should also be considered to interpret their coexistence.

    The contributions of animal movement network researches to landscape ecology
    Yuehui Li, Yuanman Hu
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  98-108.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020219
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    Context: As early as the emergence of landscape ecology in the 1980s, scientists began to conceive ideas about landscape networks including landscape networks concepts, network metrics, and landscape connectivity. Those early ideas needed to be gradually realized through the exploration of concrete landscape processes. Animal movement processes are substantially different from inorganic processes due to the fact that animals provide a variety of biological attributes in each corridor or patch and feed back into their habitat in a highly complex way. Therefore, the animal movement network research especially contribute to realizing and developing those early ideas to build up landscape network research.
    Objectives: We present a review to summarize the development of research focusing on animal movement networks and how it has contributed to landscape ecology. We also provide an overview of animal movement network research progress in China and recognize the gap between China and developed countries.
    Results and conclusions: We summarize the early ideas of landscape networks including landscape networks concepts, network metrics, and landscape connectivity which have shaped three current focuses in animal network research: modelling movement networks, evaluating importance of network elements, and examining functional landscape connectivity. It is considered as the trend of incorporating animal movement to movement network research. We illustrate that the research on movement networks has aimed at quantifying biological attributes in each corridor/patch as well as the connections or differences among corridors/patches in those attributes. This has made a special contribution to realizing those early ideas and developing landscape ecology from the era of focusing on only inorganic processes. Also, we highlight that there is a gap in animal movement networks research between China and developed countries, which hinders the special contributions to landscape ecology study in China. Additionally, we emphasize the importance and necessity of movement ecology research employing GPS tracking data to improve knowledge of animal movement networks and narrow the research gap.

    Technology and Methodologies
    Application of passive acoustic monitoring technology in the monitoring of western black crested gibbons
    Enzhu Zhong, Zhenhua Guan, Xingce Zhou, Youjie Zhao, Han Li, Shaobin Tan, Kunrong Hu
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  109-117.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020215
    Abstract ( 1049 )   HTML ( 31 )   PDF (4617KB) ( 875 )   Save
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    Aims: Passive acoustic monitoring technology has begun to be widely used for monitoring terrestrial mammals. Such technology enables the unattended monitoring of wildlife in specific areas at a low-cost and in a non-invasive manner. The main problem, however, is the need to manually retrieve the data. Moreover, the subsequent data analysis and sorting can be complicated.
    Innovation: In this study, a passive acoustic monitoring system was designed for monitoring the western black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor). The monitoring system is powered by solar energy in the field. Sound data are collected by a directional pick-up array. The data are transmitted through a wireless network to a server in the management office building. Researchers are assisted in identifying the sound and the direction of the sound by using the sound-data management system, which simplifies data collection and processing.
    Significance: This system has been continuously monitoring two groups of western black crested gibbons for at least 351 days at the monitoring site (of Pipaqing in the Ailao Mountain Nature Reserve). Monitoring results up until now demonstrate that the system has had a long continuous run-time and is not affected by the weather conditions; data transmission is convenient and efficient; the directions of sound source can be determined by the directional pick-up array well, overcoming the shortcomings of traditional monitoring equipment. This system has advantages over manual monitoring methods in terms of data continuity and integrity, intelligence in data processing, and monitoring costs. This system meets the continuous long-term monitoring needs of western black crested gibbons, and can be improved and applied in the future as an automated solution for the monitoring of this primate species.

    SP2000: An open-sourced R package for querying the Catalogue of Life
    Liuyong Ding, Hao Li, Juan Tao, Jinlong Zhang, Minrui Huang, Ke Yang, Jun Wang, Chengzhi Ding, Daming He
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  118-122.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020235
    Abstract ( 2606 )   HTML ( 154 )   PDF (1788KB) ( 1628 )   Supplementary Material   English Version Save
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    Aims: The Catalogue of Life provides the basis for understanding both regional and global biodiversity. With the invention and development of the internet, the up-to-date species checklists stored in the public databases has greatly promoted the development of taxonomy, conservation biology, and macroecology. Public species checklists play an indispensable role in biodiversity conservation and aid in the assessment of species’ conversation status. The Species 2000 China Node (http://www.sp2000.org.cn) and the Catalogue of Life (http://www.catalogueoflife.org) are among the leading online databases in cataloguing biodiversity, contain 122,280 and 1,829,672 taxa respectively (including infraspecific taxa). Although searching the content of the websites may be relatively straightforward, downloading the data and transferring it into a statistical environment for further analysis can present challenges.
    Method: To address this issue, we developed the package SP2000 using the R programming language.
    Application: SP2000 is an open-source, cross-platform, and user-friendly package which aims to help users query and download the checklist of organisms (including animals, plants, fungi, and microbes) from within and outside China. Here we introduce and describe the usage of SP2000 including installation, and configuration of parameters.

    Forum
    On implementation path of the strictest conservation policies in national park management
    Yan Yan, Fanglin Tang, Yongchen Tian, Kun Jin
    Biodiv Sci. 2021, 29 (1):  123-128.  doi:10.17520/biods.2020073
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    Background: As a new type of protected area, national parks are different from other protected areas in function and how they are protected and managed. Combination of these differences for the strictest conservation and management of national parks should be considered. Here, we analyze the background and reasons behind the strict conservation policies for national parks and discuss how to correctly understand their significance. The implementation path of the strictest conservation policy of national parks are shared here.
    Aims: National parks are the most important type of the protected area in China. National parks belong to the forbidden development area, which are included in the national ecological redline, and are strictly conserved. Strict conservation of national parks is important, but has not been accurately understood in the theoretical research and specific management practices for national parks.
    Suggestion: There are seven major aspects to the strict conservation policies of national parks, including improvement in the management system, improving the legal system guarantee, strengthening supervision and collaborative management, standardizing franchise management, improving social participation, strengthening education and training, which incorporate 23 specific management strategies. These management strategies include: implementing the vertical administration system, clarifying the power between central and local authorities and capital guarantee, establishing a scientific and perfect legal system, implementing comprehensive law enforcement and having strict law enforcement.


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