Status and analysis of rare and endangered plant resources in Gutianshan of Qianjiangyuan National Park, East China

Based on a systematic survey of rare and endangered plants in Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, Qianjiangyuan National Park, we conducted a systematic study on the species composition, conservation value, geographic characteristics, and distribution of rare and endangered plants in the region. Results showed a total of 63 national and provincial endangered seed plant species in the Gutianshan area, belonging to 32 families and 55 genera. Among them, one Class Ⅰ and 15 Class Ⅱ species were included in the National List of Key Protected Wild Plant, along with 15 species in the China Plant Red Data Book, 19 species in Zhejiang Province's Key Protected Wild Plants, and the remaining species in the China Species Red List and Threatened Species List of China's Higher Plants. The majority of threatened species maintained only small populations and a narrow distribution range, except for a few species including Glycine soja, Michelia skinneriana, and Cleyera japonica. Threatened species such as Ulmus elongata, Emmenopterys henryi, Torreya grandis, Euchresta japonica, and Croomia japonica only sporadically spread into the core area of the reserve, whereas species such as Taxus wallichiana var. mairei and Ormosia henryi were scattered in the buffer or test zones. Floristic geographic analysis showed that a higher percentage of threatened species were temperate rather than tropical genera and the degree of endangerment for endemic genera was high. Improved measures should be established to strengthen the protection of these rare and endangered species.