Native Medicinal Plant Richness Distribution Patterns and Environmental Determinants of Xinjiang, Northwest China

Li LP et al. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2015, 7(1): 45-53

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Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHM)  ISSN 1674-6384

 

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    Original article 

Native Medicinal Plant Richness Distribution Patterns and Environmental Determinants of Xinjiang, Northwest China Li-ping Li1, Ben-gang Zhang1*, Pei-gen Xiao1, Zhao Zhang1, Yao-dong Qi1, Xiao-jin Li2, Guo-ping Wang2, Hai-tao Liu1, 2 1. Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Resources Utilization of Chinese Herbal Medicine (Peking Union Medical College), Ministry of Education, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China 2. Xinjiang Institute of Chinese Materia Medica and Ethical Materia Medica, Urumqi 830002, China

ARTICLE INFO 

  ABSTRACT   

Article history

Objective

Received: April 20, 2014 Revised: July 2, 2014 Accepted: September 20, 2014 Available online:

  January 16, 2015  DOI: 10.1016/S1674‐6384(15)60019‐3 

To comprehensively map the distribution patterns of native medicinal plants

of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China; To find the environmental determinants and to give suggestions for the conservation planning of medicinal plants in Xinjiang region. Methods

Firstly, we compiled the distribution data of native medicinal plants at

a county level in Xinjiang region, including the source plants of Chinese Materia Medica

(CMM), Uygur Medicine (UM), and Kazak Medicine (KM); Secondly, we divided the

distribution data into grid with a resolution of 0.1° × 0.1° and overlaid it on the

topography and climate data in Arcgis 10.0; Finally, we analyzed the correlations of medicinal plant richness and environmental variables with ordinary least square (OLS) regressions and partial regressions. Results

UM has more non-native species in

Xinjiang region than KM. The species richness of medicinal plants is high in Altay Mountains, western Tianshan Mountains, and part of Kunlun Mountains. The richness of

medicinal plants is highly correlated with the vascular plant species richness and

climate, and further, the independent effects of vascular plant species richness are higher than the independent effects of climate. The whole plant, root & rhizome, and

seed & fruit are more frequently used than stem and leaf for CMM in Xinjiang region. Conclusion

The distribution patterns of medicinal plants are concordant with vascular

plant species, which could be carefully considered in the conservation planning of this region. Taking full advantage of current nature reserves is a low-costing approach to the

conservation of medicinal plants although they were not originally established for

medicinal plant protection. Nevertheless, it is urgent to further study the distributions and protection status of medicinal plants in the nature reserves of Xinjiang region.

Key words

Chinese Materia Medica; distribution; diversity; Kazak Medicine; Traditional Chinese Medicine; Uygur Medicine; Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

©2015 published by TIPR Press. All rights reserved.

                      *

Corresponding author: Zhang BG

Tel: +86-10-6289 9725 Fax: 86-10-6289 4462 E-mail: [email protected]

Fund: China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2014M550028); Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Research Special Project (201207002); Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Natural Science Foundation (2012211A109)

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Li LP et al. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2015, 7(1): 45-53

1.    Introduction  Medicinal plant distribution patterns and the relationships with environments are the basis for the management and conservation (Aguilar-Støen and Moe, 2007). However, it is not easy to get reliable distribution maps of medicinal plants in large scales. Further, the endangered status of medicinal plants worldwide could not be properly evaluated due to data deficiency (Butchart et al, 2010). In China, more and more herbal medicines were used and they were mainly from wild species, especially from perennial species with slow regeneration. Consequently, the standing stock of medicinal plants was seriously decreased due to the overexploitation. Huang et al (2005) reported that among the 3000 endangered plant species in China, about 60%−70% were medicinal plants. It is urgent to make a suitable conservation plan for the medicinal plants in China, and beforehand, clear understanding of their distribution patterns is essential. Yet currently, following the demands of crude drug market, more studies in China are limited on specific species, especially the species of bulk medicinal materials (Guo et al, 2013; Huang et al, 2013; Tang et al, 2014). Tentatively, the distribution patterns of all native medicinal plants and the environmental determinants were analyzed in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China in this study. As the biggest region in China, Xinjiang covers 1.64 million km2 which is six times the size of British (Li et al, 2013). According to the 3rd National Survey of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, there are about 2000 medicinal plants in Xinjiang region (Li, 1995). The high mountains and large areas of deserts have brought out extreme environmental conditions, leading to high richness of endemic medicinal plants, for example, Fritillaria pallidiflora Schrenk ex Fisch. et C. A. Mey., Ferula sinkiangensis K. M. Shen, and Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk) Wight (Yin, 2006; Li et al, 2011b). As a part of ancient Silk Road, Xinjiang has bridged cultures of East and West in which various medical systems have been developed (Xie et al, 2009), e.g., Uygur Medicine (UM) and Kazak Medicine (KM). UM is one of the “Four Famous Ethno-Medicines of China” and KM is important for local nomadic tribes. Ethno-medicines are as important as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in China (Xi et al, 2010). However, the status of UM and KM is not considered as properly as before due to the introduction and development of modern Western medicine these years (Huang and Zhou, 2007). Some ethno-medicine knowledge is even gradually losing because prescriptions have been much less used in the medical practices than before. Fortunately, some researchers (Zheng et al, 2008; Yu et al, 2013) have begun to pay attention to the plant medicine usage in the folk. Some databases (Wang et al, 2010a) have recorded the efficacy, chemical compounds, and voucher species of medicinal plants in Xinjiang region. However till now, few studies were performed on distribution patterns and conservation of medicinal plants in this region. Medicinal parts used are important for the effect of medicines (Chen et al, 2011). There are various functions for

different parts of even one species, for example, cortex of root and rhizome of Morus alba L. is used as Mori Cortex, branch is used as Mori Ramulus, and fruit is used as Mori Fructus (Pharmacopoeia Committee of P. R. China, 2010). Understanding the patterns of medicinal parts used may help in understanding the way of people using plants and may also contribute to the effective protection. So far what the distribution patterns of plant medicinal parts are in Xinjiang region and how they correlate with environmental variables have not been quantitatively and systematically explored. How and in which extent the environment may affect the distributions of medicinal plants / medicinal parts were not well studied. Rokaya et al (2012) analyzed the vertical patterns of medicinal plants in Central Himalaya in Nepal and found a unimodal pattern. The study presented only the relationship of medicinal plant richness and altitude. Here in this study, based on a detailed climate dataset of Xinjiang region, we analyzed the relationship of medicinal plants / medicinal parts and climate, and further compared the relative effects of climate and vascular plant richness on medicinal plant richness.

2.    Materials and methods  2.1    Study area  Xinjiang is located in northwest China. There are special Eurasian Steppe Region in Altay and Central Asiatic Desert Region in south Xinjiang (Wu and Wu, 1998). More than 30 geo-authentic (daodi) medicinal materials were produced in Xinjiang, including Glycyrrhiza inflata Batalin, Cistanche deserticola Ma, Ephedra equisetina Bunge, Cynomorium songaricum Rupr., etc (Hu et al, 1989). In addition, Lycium ruthenicum Murray, Vaccinium myrtillus L., and Hippophae rhamnoides L. are planted in large areas which have bred the famous “small berry industry”. According to the evaluation with the method of IUCN, currently more than 30 of the 104 endangered plant species in Xinjiang are medicinal plants, e.g., Saussurea involucrata (Kar. et Kir) Sch. -Bip., Rheum altaicum Losinsk., and Gentiana olgae Regel et Schmalh (Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China, 2013). They are playing the great roles both in ethno-medicines (e.g., UM and KM) and TCM.

2.2    Data sources  The species distribution data of vascular plants in Xinjiang region were mainly from Florae Xinjiangensis (Commissione Redactorum Florae Xinjiangensis, 1992− 2011), and online database (Xinjiang Ecological Resources and Environment Database, http://www.csdb.cn). These data were systematically recorded by Li et al (2011b; 2013). The medicinal plant checklists of Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) and classification of the medicinal parts were from database Classification and Codes of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resource (Wang et al, 2012) and Records of Chinese Medicinal Resources (China National Corporation

Li LP et al. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2015, 7(1): 45-53 of Traditional & Herbal Medicine, 1994). There are 10 330 source materials recorded for CMM, of which are 9140 vascular plant species belonging to 2165 genera and 272 families. Among them, 1123 plant species were found in Xinjiang region including 846 native species and 277 cultivated species. The UM and KM checklists were mainly from Chinese Materia Medica: Uighur Cartridge (State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine “Chinese Materia Medica” Editorial Board, 2005) and Materia Medica of Kazak Nationality in China (Wang, 2008−2012). There are 423 source materials for UM and 295 of them are vascular plant species, with only 63 of those natively distributed in Xinjiang. The recorded source materials are 412 for KM, 352 of which are vascular plant species including 266 species native to Xinjiang (Tables 1 and 2). Specifically, e.g., endangered medicinal plants were Astragalus membranaceus  Fisch. ex Bunge, Arnebia euchroma (Royle) I. M. Johnst., Fritillaria verticillata Willd., F. pallidiflora, Polypodium vulgare  L., Ephedra regeliana  Table 2 Species

47

Florin, Rhodiola kirilowii  (Regel) Maxim., and Apocynum venetum L.; endemic medicinal plants were Ferula fukanensis  K. M. Shen, Tamarix sachuensis P. Y. Zhang et M. T. Liu, and Delphinium tianshanicum W. T. Wang. Table 1

Source plant species richness for CMM, UM, and KM

Species

Family

Genus

Species

CMM

272

2165

9140

Fern

49

123

441

Gymnosperm

10

28

85

Angiosperm

213

2014

8614

UM

87

222

295

KM

88

282

352

Both CMM and UM

75

181

218

Both CMM and KM

82

209

249

Both UM and KM

31

51

52

Source plant species richness for CMM, UM, and KM in Xinjiang region

Woody

Herbal

Total

Family

Genus

Species

Family

Genus

Species

Family

Genus

Species

46

105

232

101

441

891

126

539

1123

Native

41

121

158

90

362

733

103

410

846

Cultivated

32

68

119

41

121

158

63

186

277 12

Total CMM

Endemic CMM

3

3

3

6

7

9

9

10

Endangered CMM

8

14

16

19

23

26

26

37

42

17

29

36

38

85

98

50

114

134

UM Native Cultivated KM Native cCultivated

8

13

14

29

44

49

35

57

63

11

18

22

19

45

49

28

63

71

23

38

50

62

194

250

76

231

300

17

32

42

57

173

224

66

205

266

7

8

8

18

25

26

25

33

34

Worldclim Database (Hijmans et al, 2005) recorded global climate based on 50-year records. Li et al (2013) processed the data in Xinjiang region with a resolution of 0.1°× 0.1° and the corresponding climatic indicators. The processed potential evapotranspiration (PET) and actual evapotranspiration (AET) in the report of Li et al (2013) were utilized in this research.

2.3    Data analyses  First, we filtered the checklists of CMM, UM, and KM with the checklists of native vascular plant species in Xinjiang and then mapped the species of local distributions; Different medicinal parts were also mapped with a resolution of 0.1°× 0.1° in Arcgis 10.0 (detailed method in Li et al, 2013). Second, we analyzed the environmental determinants of medicinal plant richness with the method of regressions: ordinary least square (OLS) regressions were conducted to find the relationships and partial regressions were conducted to find the independent effects of each variable. As the strong hump-shaped relationships between medicinal plant species richness and PET,

we used piecewise linear regressions to explore the relationship of the two and there was a breakpoint found. For the relationship of medicinal plant species richness and vascular plant species richness, we analyzed both whole vascular plant species richness and non-medicinal plant (NMP) species richness. The trends were quite similar and we showed only the correlations of medicinal plant species richness with NMP species richness. We used the whole dataset for analyses but 5% of the entire dataset, i.e., ca. 870 grids for figures. This was because if we used the total 17 454 grids for figures, some dots overlapped in the scatter plots that made the figures visually blurring. All the analyses were conducted in R 3.0.3 (R Development Core Team, 2014) and specifically, piecewise linear regressions were conducted with R script developed by Wang et al (2010b).

  3.    Results  3.1    Medicinal plant and medicinal part richness  distribution patterns    About 9% of the source vascular plants for CMM are

48

Li LP et al. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2015, 7(1): 45-53 that there are communications between these two ethno-medicines and CMM. There are 52 shared plant species for UM and KM which are only 18% and 15% of the two medicines, respectively, showing the different sources and traditions of the two ethno-medicine systems (Table 1). The distribution patterns of CMM, endangered CMM, UM, and KM are concordant, with high richness in Altay Mountains, west Tianshan Mountains, and part of west Kunlun Mountains (Figure 1). Among them, 42 medicinal plants are listed as key protected plants of Xinjiang (Table 2; Figure 1b), and 12 medicinal plants are endemic (Table 2).

native species of Xinjiang, and 3% of them are cultivated in this region. About 45% of the source plants for UM are distributed in Xinjiang, with 21% being native and 24% cultivated. About 85% of the source plants of KM are found in Xinjiang, with 75% native species and 10% cultivated species (Table 2). This result shows the different source plants of UM and KM, i.e., more KM species are from native sources while more UM species are exported from other places or cultivated in Xinjiang. There are 218 and 249 species shared between UM, KM and CMM covering 74% and 71% of the whole UM and KM, respectively, showing 75°E 50°N

80°E

85°E

90°E

95°E

CMM

a

75°E

80°E

85°E

90°E

95°E

Endangered CMM

b

50°N

45°N

45°N

40°N

40°N

35°N 50°N

35°N 50°N

UM

c

KM

d

45°N

45°N

40°N

40°N

35°N

35°N

75°E Figure 1

80°E

85°E

90°E

95°E

75°E

80°E

85°E

90°E

95°E

 

Species richness distribution patterns of CMM, endangered CMM, UM, and KM in Xinjiang The grain size is 0.1°× 0.1°, with inset (a) showing a rough division (Li et al, 2011b).

In Xinjiang, the whole plant, root & rhizome, and seed & fruits are more frequently used than leaf, stem and flower (Table 3). Richness of plant medicinal part utilized is higher in mountains than in basins which is similar to the patterns of medicinal plant richness (Figure 2). 

  3.2    Relationships  of  medicinal  plant/medicinal  part  richness and environmental variables  The medicinal plant species richness is highly correlated with climate (AET + PET + PET2, r2 = 0.52, P < 0.001) and is more correlated with the NMP species richness (r2 = 0.91, P < 0.001; Table 4). Medicinal plant species richness is linearly correlated with AET (r2 = 0.37, P < 0.001; Table 4), and has quadratic relationship with PET, i.e., increase first and then decrease with the increase of PET; The breakpoint is at PET = 488 mm (r2 = 0.35 and 0.42, both P < 0.001, respectively, before and after the breakpoint; Figure 3). Medicinal plant species richness, including CMM, UM and KM are highly correlated with NMP species richness (r2 = 0.91, 0.42, and 0.85, all P < 0.001; Figure 4). Partial regressions indicate that independent effect of NMP species richness on medicinal plant species richness is higher than

the effect of climate with r2 = 0.41 and 0.02, respectively. This shows the concordant relationship of CMM source plants and plant species richness, i.e., the medicinal plant species richness is high when the correspondent local species richness is high. Medicinal part richness of medicinal plants is correlated with climate and it is more correlated with vascular plant species richness with higher corresponding r2 values (Table 5, Figures 5 and 6). Table 3

Medicinal part richness of CMM plants in Xinjiang

Medicinal part

Family

Genus

Species

Whole plant

72

256

425

Root & Rhizome

64

180

277

Seed & Fruit

57

157

218

Leaf

43

87

115

Stem

38

72

107

Flower

31

75

110

Bark

26

43

54

4

5

6

22

42

52

Resinae Other

Li LP et al. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2015, 7(1): 45-53 75°E 50°N

80°E

85°E

90°E

95°E

Root & Rhizome

a

75°E

80°E

85°E

90°E

Stem

49 95°E b

50°N

45°N

45°N

40°N

40°N

35°N 50°N

35°N Leaf

c Flower

d

50°N

45°N

45°N

40°N

40°N

35°N

35°N

50°N

Seed & Fruit

e

Whole plant

f

50°N

45°N

45°N

40°N

40°N

35°N

35°N 75°E

80°E

Figure 2

85°E

90°E

95°E

75°E

80°E

85°E 90°E

95°E

Medicinal part richness distribution patterns of CMM in Xinjiang region

4.    Discussion 

medicines and a specific traditional healthcare delivery system. TCM and ethno-medicines are as important as Western

4.1    Medicinal plant richness distribution patterns  and conservation 

Table 4

Lower prices and fewer side effects than chemical drugs make plant medicines popular in both developing and developed countries (Kala, 2009). The use of medicinal plants for human health is perhaps one of the most significant ways in which human directly reap the benefits provided by biodiversity (Hamilton, 2004). With long history of plant medicine usage, China has very rich culture of using plants as

Variables

r2

NMP richness

0.909

Climate

0.522

NMP richness + climate

0.927

Independent NMP richness

0.405

Independent climate

0.018

All regressions in the table were significant with P < 0.001.

b 300

300

250

250 CMM richness

CMM richness

a

Partial regressions of climate (AET + PET + PET2),

NMP richness and CMM plant richness in Xinjiang

200 150

200 150 100

100

50

50 200

Figure 3

400

600 800 PET / mm

1000

  0

200

400 600 AET / mm

800

Relationship between CMM richness and climate variables in Xinjiang region

1000

50

Li LP et al. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2015, 7(1): 45-53

a 300

30

250

120 100

200 150

KM richness

25 UM richness

CMM richness

c 140

b

20

100

80 60 40

15

20 100 200 300

400 500 600

100 200 300 400 500 600

100 200

300 400 500

600

Non-medical plant species richness Figure 4 Table 5

Relationship of Chinese medicinal material source plant richness and NMP species richness in Xinjiang region

Environmental determinants of medicinal part richness

distribution patterns of CMM plants in Xinjiang Medicinal part

AET

Plant species richness r2

Slope

r2

Slope

Root & Rhizome

0.090

0.374

0.084

0.939

Stem

0.019

0.172

0.019

0.487

Leaf

0.010

0.115

0.009

0.266

Flower

0.009

0.049

0.017

0.513

Seed & Fruit

0.032

0.170

0.039

0.715

Whole plant

0.174

0.370

0.164

0.932

All regressions in the table were significant with P < 0.001.

a

b

c 25

80

60 40

Whole plant

30

Stem

Root & Rhizome

medicine for China’s medical sciences and practices (Huang and Zhou, 2007). China is a natural storehouse of medicinal plants with the huge biodiversity, especially in mountains (Tang et al, 2006). The sustainable utilization of medicinal plants was the key point for the development and modernization of TCM (Chen et al, 2005; Huang et al, 2005). Xinjiang has high species richness, also medicinal species richness with about 1/6 of total Chinese land area, and with various habitats of high mountains and deserts. However, the overexploitation of medicinal plants in Xinjiang highly decreased the stocks, such as the overexploitation of Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. influenced not only this species

20

20 15

10 10

20

0 0

100

200

300

400

0

100

200

300

400

0

100

200

300

400

0

100

200

300

400

AET / mm d

e

30

60

f

50

20

150

40

15

30

10

20

Leaf

Seed & Fruit

Flower

25

200

100

50

10

5 0

100

200

300

400

0

100

200

300

400

AET / mm Figure 5

Relationship of medicinal part richness of CMM with AET in Xinjiang region

Li LP et al. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2015, 7(1): 45-53

a

b

c

25

60

Whole plant

30

20 Stem

Root & Rhizome

80

51

40

20

15

10 10

20 0 200

400

600

800

1000

200

400

600

800

1000

200

400

600

800

1000

200

400

600

800

1000

Plant species richness d 30

e

60

f

50

150

15

40 Leaf

Seed & Fruit

Flower

25 20

30 20

10

200

100

50

10

5 200

400

600

800

1000

200

400

600

800

1000

Plant species richness Figure 6

Relationship of medicinal part richness of CMM with vascular plant species richness in Xinjiang region

itself but also the growth of Paeonia sinjiangensis K. Y. Pan. Conservation of medicinal plants is urgently needed in this region but till now there have not been suited the conservation systems for medicinal plants. We found that the distribution patterns of the source plants of CMM, UM, and KM are concordant with relatively high species richness in mountains and low species richness in basins (Figure 1) which is similar to the vascular plant species richness patterns (Li et al, 2011b). High correlations of medicinal plant species richness and vascular plant species richness also indicate the similar regional distribution patterns of the two. Conservation of medicinal plants could, in a certain extent, borrow ideas from the conservation of vascular plants. There are currently more than 30 nature reserves (country and province level) in Xinjiang with various protecting targets (Du and Zhang, 2006). Full utilization of these current nature reserves for protecting medicinal plants is a possible low-costing practice. Comprehensive investigation of medicinal plant distributions and evaluation of the protection status in nature reserves is the base for the layout of proper medicinal plant protection strategies. Further analyses of the distribution patterns of medicinal plants, inside or outside nature reserves, thorough analyses of the endangered mechanism of some specific species are needed for the conservation planning of medicinal plants in this region. Another way for the in situ protection of medicinal plants is to build nature reserves specifically targeting for medicinal plants. Zhou et al (2007) investigated the medicinal plant species richness in Changbai Mountains

of northeastern China and concluded that development plan of medicinal materials should be made in advance. This research further suggested that possible small nature reserves that targeted for medicinal plants could be built in Changbai Mountains. These suggestions from Zhou et al (2007) fit also the situation of Xinjiang region. Additionally, as for the specific environment (or habitat) of Xinjiang region, for example, desert, very high altitude, and very dry, there are some specific species, e.g., C. deserticola, C. songaricum, and S. involucrata grow only in fixed habitats and are severely influenced by human activities but actually the whole biodiversity of these regions could be low because of the extreme climate. Special attention of conservation should also be paid to these regions besides the high species richness regions. Besides the in situ conservation, the development of plantation is also a good way to preserve medicinal plants. There are several certificated bases of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) in Xinjiang that planting Carthamus tinctorius L., Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., etc. More GAP bases could be set in the future to produce good quality medicinal materials to meet the demand of expanding crude drug market and to reduce the overexploitation of wild resources.

4.2    Medicinal part richness distribution patterns  and conservation  In Nepal, leaves and roots are most frequently used in

52

Li LP et al. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 2015, 7(1): 45-53

the medical practices, ratio of them is both 31% and ratio of fruit and seed usage is 25% (Rokaya et al, 2012). In Chinese medical practices, it was found that root & rhizome and whole plant usage ratio is altogether 70% in Yunnan province (Pu and Chen, 2010). The ratio of whole plant usage of medicinal plants in Xinjiang is the highest (31%), followed by root & rhizome (20%) and seeds & fruits (16%); totally 67% of the three (Table 3). The removal of the whole plants, roots or excessive use of fruits or seeds for medicines has more negative effects on plant population growth than other parts, possibly leading to a strong decline of many medicinal plant populations in nature (Rokaya et al, 2010). The high usage ratio of whole plants, underground parts and reproductive parts for medicines in Xinjiang, and also other regions, make more difficulties in protecting medicinal plants than other plants. Conservation planning of these plants beforehand appears important to avoid them being endangered.

4.3    Environmental determinants of medicinal plant /  medicinal part richness distribution patterns  Medicinal plant richness is highly correlated with climate, increase significantly with AET and increase then decrease with PET (Figure 3). This result is similar to the relationship of vascular plant species richness and climate (Li et al, 2011a). We found that the independent effect of NMP species richness is far more than the independent effect of climate (Table 4). This probably shows that there are more medicinal plants when there are more plant species, and vice versa, especially for CMM and KM. This trend is less significant for UM and this is probably because there are more source plants of UM being non-native species of Xinjiang region. It is reasonable that in the long history, people get more plant species for medical usage when there are more species available. Rokaya et al (2012) simulated the vertical distributed patterns of medicinal plants with Monte Carlo methods in Central Himalaya and found that the real medicinal richness was lower than the expected at low altitude. They concluded that low medicinal plant richness at low altitude was possibly because the higher density of human populations than at high altitude which induced the higher utilization pressure. So far many questions, for example, what the ratio of medicinal plant species vs NMP species is and which factors influence the ratio are still not known. The richness of medicinal parts is also correlated with climate and vascular plant species richness, with highest r2 values of whole plant, root, and rhizome. Similar to the species richness patterns, the r2 values of the correlations with medicinal parts are higher for plant species richness than that for climate.

5.    Conclusion  There are high ratio of shared source plants for UM & CMM and KM & CMM, but low ratio for UM and KM. The source plants of UM are more from non-native species of Xinjiang than KM. The distribution patterns of CMM, UM

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