title: Biodiversity of Jinggangshan Mountain: the importance of topography and geographical location in supporting higher biodiversity.
abstract: Diversity is mainly determined by climate and environment. In addition, topography is a complex factor, and the relationship between topography and biodiversity is still poorly understood. To understand the role of topography, i.e., altitude and slope, in biodiversity, we selected Jinggangshan Mountain (JGM), an area with unique topography, as the study area. We surveyed plant and animal species richness of JGM and compared the biodiversity and the main geographic characteristics of JGM with the adjacent 4 mountains. Gleason's richness index was calculated to assess the diversity of species. In total, 2958 spermatophyte species, 418 bryophyte species, 355 pteridophyte species and 493 species of vertebrate animals were recorded in this survey. In general, the JGM biodiversity was higher than that of the adjacent mountains. Regarding topographic characteristics, 77% of JGM's area was in the mid-altitude region and approximately 40% of JGM's area was in the 10°-20° slope range, which may support more vegetation types in JGM area and make it a biodiversity hotspot. It should be noted that although the impact of topography on biodiversity was substantial, climate is still a more general factor driving the formation and maintenance of higher biodiversity. Topographic conditions can create microclimates, and both climatic and topographic conditions contribute to the formation of high biodiversity in JGM.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Ming
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Fang-Fang
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Gang
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Bo
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Ying-Yong
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Si-Jie
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Administration Bureau of Jinggangshan, Ji'an 343600, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Quan
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 51027, China.
authors.forename: Shao-Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002681:China; D004777:Environment; D005843:Geography; D010944:Plants