The development of modern agriculture has resulted in much homogenization of the landscape consisting of large patches of farmland, so small remnant non-crop habitats especially linear corridors play an important role in the conservation of species and the maintenance of ecosystem functions. However, little attention has been paid to the effects of corridors structural characteristics on the plant species restricted to such habitats. In this study, we selected three types of corridors including ditch, hedgerow and road, and analyzed their structural characteristics. The plant species presented in these corridors were investigated, and the species diversity, abundance and frequency were estimated. Moreover, spatial arrangements of corridors were classified into different types to discuss whether there were significant effects of corridor network on plant distribution. The results show that three types of corridors have different effects on plant species composition and diversity. The one-one combined corridor networks and total network associated by three corridors have more complex structural features than each single type of corridor. However, there is no strong correlation between the corridor networks with their plant species. We suggest that carrying out a pointed vegetation survey at corridor intersections to further test the relationships between structural features of corridor and plants is necessary.

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Riparian woodlands play a significant role in hosting plant diversity and maintaining soil and water resources. However, riparian woodlands are highly sensitive to fluvial and human disturbances, and most are now degraded as a result. In this study, we analyze variation in soil nutrients and plant diversity and their relationships in riparian woodlands along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China, based on field investigation. Our results indicate that soil nutrient content and plant diversity were lowest in plots located closest to the river. Specifically, we found a hump-shaped relationship with increasing distance from river. This result can be attributed to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis,which explains that species diversity increase at intermediate disturbance levels. However, total species richness within each subzone was greatest close to the river, due primarily to the high level of species turnover observed among plots located closest to the river. Soil nutrients in the riparian woodlands were positively correlated with plant diversity across all distances. Specifically, soil TC, NO 3 --N, and A-P contents were significantly correlated with plant species richness and diversity.This relationship also conformed to a hump-shaped response curve between species richness and soil nutrients, though species richness increases with increasing nutrient levels. Results from this study can provide a basis for sustainable management of riparian ecosystems.

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Pattern of biodiversity along environmental gradients is one of the basic issues in the biodiversity studies. The environmental gradients include several factors, such as elevation, water and thermal conditions, anthropogenic impacts, and so on. Especially the altitudinal gradient incorporates multiple resource gradients which vary continuously differently. This study was conducted in the Yiluo river basin, straddling Henan and Shanxi Province (109毅43忆-113毅10忆E, 33毅39忆-34毅54忆N) , ranging from 101 m to 1227 m. The Yiluo River is an important tributary of Yellow River in the south side of the middle reaches. The vegetation in drainage basin ecosystem of Yiluo River has been heavily impacted by human. In this research, we focused on the herb communities in different habitats formed by different disturbance types and intensity along different environmental gradients in the drainage area of the Yiluo River. A field investigation was conducted in August and September of 2009, to describe the distribution patterns and the abundance features of the species in different habitats, from two aspects, alpha diversity and beta diversity, the altitudinal gradient distribution pattern of the herb biodiversity and its environmental explanation. This study explored the influence of human and natural disturbance on the distribution patterns of species within the drainage area, with purposes of offering a scientific guidance to the restoration of the biodiversity in the herbs communities, the management of the watershed and the evaluation of its ecological environment, so as to promote the

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As urbanization and industrialization continue to advance rapidly in China, the issue of farmland abandonment is becoming more prevalent. Nevertheless, this phenomenon is crucial in protecting plant diversity in agricultural landscapes. This study sought to investigate the seasonal variation patterns of plant diversity in abandoned farmland habitats within the Huang-Huai Plain region. The plant community characteristics during spring, summer, and autumn were examined, and the variations in plant species diversity and phylogenetic diversity were analyzed across the different seasons. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the interrelationships among various diversity indices, and redundancy analysis and linear regression were employed to examine the connection between plant diversity indices and key soil environmental factors. The results showed that significant seasonal changes occurred in the plant community characteristics of abandoned farmland in the Huang-Huai Plain, with the number of families, genera, and species being highest in spring, followed by summer and autumn. Similarly, plant species diversity, richness index, and phylogenetic diversity were also higher in spring than in summer and autumn. The phylogenetic structure of plant communities tended to diverge in spring, be random in summer, and be clustered in autumn. The phylogenetic diversity and species diversity indexes were strongly associated, and soil organic matter and ammonium nitrogen were significantly positively correlated with plant species diversity and phylogenetic diversity. This study highlights the importance of considering seasonal and temporal scales when studying plant diversity and provides a theoretical basis for biodiversity conservation and agricultural production in the Huang-Huai Plain of China.