With unique geological history and climatic conditions, the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau is an important ecological security barrier for China and even Asia. The Qinghai- Tibet Plateau has the most complete and primitive wetland ecosystem, breeding a large number of wetland plants.

Wetland plant diversity is an important symbol of the structure and function of wetland ecosystem, which is of great significance to maintain the stability of alpine wetland ecosystem in Qinghai- Tibet Plateau. Understanding the spatial pattern of wetland plant diversity distribution and its key driving factors in the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau is of guiding significance for the study and protection of wetland plant diversity in the region.

Researchers of the Plant systematics and Evolution Research Group at Wuhan Botanical Garden constructed a database of 2329 wetland plants in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on a large number of monographs, research papers, online databases and field survey data. Meanwhile, the key factors driving the distribution pattern of wetland plant species richness were analyzed through three groups of environmental variables : energy, water and habitat.

The results showed that the spatial patterns of species richness and species density of wetland plants in the Qinghai-T ibet Plateau were very similar, and there were obvious regional differences, showing a downward trend from southeast to northwest.

The wetland plant diversity hotspots are mainly concentrated in Hengduan Mountains in the southeast of the plateau, Qilian Mountains in the northeast, Himalayas in the southeast of Tibet and Sanjiangyuan region in Qinghai. The hotspots of endangered wetland plant diversity in the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau are concentrated in the Hengduan Mountains and southeastern Tibet, with few or no distribution in other regions. The species richness of wetland angiosperms decreased with the increase of altitude and latitude, but increased with the increase of longitude.

The species richness of wetland plants was positively correlated with annual mean temperature (AMT) and Annual precipitation (AP), and negatively correlated with temperature seasonality (TS) and precipitation seasonality (PS). The three environmental variables of energy, water and habitat jointly explained 43.58 % of the changes in wetland plant richness. The distribution pattern of species richness is mainly affected by two sets of environmental variables, energy and water, especially water environment variables.

This study provides basic data for the study and protection of wetland plant diversity in the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau. It is suggested that the Hengduan Mountains and southeastern Tibet should be designated as the priority protection area for endangered wetland angiosperms.

The research was published in Diversity-B asel entitled as “Diversity Patterns of Wetland Angiosperms in the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau, China”. The research work was supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.