Study on vascular plant diversity in natural wetlands of China

This study presents an updated and comprehensive checklist of wetland vascular plants in China, integrating re-evaluated historical herbarium records, newly published records, field survey data, and the latest botanical databases. A total of 3 007 taxa (including subspecies and varieties) were documented, encompassing 182 families and 789 genera. These included 101 fern taxa from 24 families and 52 genera, five gymnosperm taxa from three families and five genera, and 2 901 angiosperm taxa from 155 families and 732 genera. Species-rich families exceeding 100 taxa included Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae, and Ranunculaceae, while Carex, Salix, and Impatiens were the most speciose genera, each comprising more than 50 taxa. Ecologically, obligate wetland species (aquatic plants and helophytes) constituted 41.87% of the total, while facultative wetland species (hygrophilous plants) accounted for 58.13%. The checklist included 97 species endemic to China, as well as 133 species classified as threatened, 84 species listed as national key protected wild plants, five species with extremely small populations, and 62 invasive species. Spatial analysis revealed pronounced geographic disparities in species richness, with southern border provinces exhibiting significantly higher diversity than northern regions. Despite these advances, field surveys remain incomplete and regionally uneven. To support future biodiversity research and conservation efforts, we advocate for intensified field investigations and the systematic expansion of national wetland plant databases and herbarium resources.