HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Qian, H. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Qian, H. Agricola Articles by Qian, H.

A comparison of the taxonomic richness of temperate plants in East Asia and North America¹

Research and Collections Center, Illinois State Museum, 1011 East Ash Street, Springfield, Illinois 62703 USA

The taxonomic richness of seed plants at different taxonomic levels was compared between temperate East Asia and North America at both continental and semi-continental scales. In each comparison, land area and latitude range were adjusted to a comparable level between the two continental regions. East Asia is significantly more diverse than North America. In general, differences in taxonomic diversity arise at and below the genus level. At the continental scale, East Asia has 1.3 and 1.5 times as many genera and species, respectively, as North America. The northern part of East Asia has 1.1 times as many species as the northern part of North America. At the genus level, the northern part of East Asia is less diverse than the northern part of North America by a factor of 0.94. This pattern indicates that the diversity bias between the two continental regions results from the flora of southern East Asia. The diversity differences between East Asia and North America are not homogenously distributed across different plant groups. At the species level, East Asia had significantly more species than expected in magnoliids, alismatids, Liliidae, ranunculids, and rosids and had significantly less species in the Commelinidae, Caryophyllidae, and euasterids than North America.

Key Words: biogeography • East Asia • North America • seed plants • species diversity

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Mitsui, S.-T. Chen, Z.-K. Zhou, C.-I. Peng, Y.-F. Deng, and H. Setoguchi Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Genus Ainsliaea (Asteraceae) in the Sino-Japanese Region based on Nuclear rDNA and Plastid DNA Sequence Data Ann. Bot., January 1, 2008; 101(1): 111 - 124. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. QIAN, S. WANG, J.-S. HE, J. ZHANG, L. WANG, X. WANG, and K. GUO Phytogeographical Analysis of Seed Plant Genera in China Ann. Bot., November 1, 2006; 98(5): 1073 - 1084. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]