Taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of vascular plants in the Ma’anling volcanic area of Hainan, China

Abstract

The Ma’anling volcanic area in Hainan Province, located in the southwest portion of Haikou, is the only tropical island volcano group of China, and contains China’s typical tropical and subtropical biological communities. We carried out a field investigation of the vascular plants in the area. In this paper, we examined the origination and evolution of flora, listing all plants in the region and analyzing the taxonomy and phylogenetic diversity. Results showed that there were 284 species of vascular plants in the Ma’anling area of Haikou belonging to 88 families and 241 genera, which included 194 native species, 23 exotic invasive species, 31 naturalized species, 40 cultivars and 4 rare and endangered plant species. In general, plant species were abundant in the crater area of the saddle ridge and species diversity of the trees under different land use regimes (plantation, secondary forest, and wasteland) was significant, whereas species diversity of shrubs and grasses in different land types was not significant. There were significant diversity differences between the plantations and the wastelands, while the diversity differences between the secondary forests and the plantations were insignificant. In addition, flora was mainly composed of tropical taxa that are most closely related to the flora of Guangdong; likewise, the flora of Vietnam and Guangxi are also closely linked. This study provided a basis for further exploration of flora as well as plant protection and utilization in the area.