Situation and Strategy of Biodiversity Conservation in the Houhe National Nature Reserve, Hubei Province, China Ⅰ.Situation and Study of Biodiversity

The Houhe National Nature Reserve(HNNR) is located in the south of Wufeng Tujiazu Minority Autonomous County of Hubei Province,and this area is in the extension of eastern part of Wuling Mountains and adjacent to Hunan Province,which locates in the transitional region from the second terrace to the third terrace of China topography.The HNNR is a part of the center of endemic species and the Tertiary relic plant species,distributing from the east of Sichuan Province to the west of Hubei Province and northwest of Hunan Province,which is one of three biodiversity centers in China.Biodiversities in the HNNR are very high,and the communities of concentrated distribution of Tertiary relic plants are the main feature of the reserve. With the complicated physiognomy,various elevation and microhabitats,the HNNR possesses different(ecological) systems and special plant communities,including from evergreen broadleaf forest in river valley and lowland to shrub or meadow in subalpine regions. 307 wild animal species of 74 families in 25 orders were founded in the HNNR,which is 63.5% of the total in Hubei Province and 13.0% in China.of them,51 species are nationally protected animal and other 70 species are provincially protected animals in Hubei.There are 2088 vascular plant species belonging to 819 genera of 194 families,which are 34.4% of total in Hubei Province and 7.5% in China,and about 70 species of the vascular plants are endemic,rare,endangered or main protected plants in China.192 mosses species of 71 genera in 33 family and 7 epiphyllous liverwort species of 7 genera in 3 families were also found in the HNNR,which comprise 9.8% and 4.2% of total in relevant category in China,respectively.The species diversity is not only exhibited the complexity of flora in the HNNR,but also showed richness of species in communities and various types of animals and plants with economic value. The studies on biodiversity in this region have achieved satisfied advances in recent years,but most of them are focused on species survey or flora research,some on the species diversity in communities,and only few on genetic diversity within species.In addition,study of species diversity is imbalanced among different category of living organisms,insects and bryophytes are just being started,while freshwater fish and fungi are not investigated in the HNNR.