Predicting the Potential Habitat of Three Endangered Species of Carpinus Genus under Climate Change and Human Activity

The impact of climate change and human activities on endangered plants has been a serious concern in forest ecology. Some Carpinus plants have become extinct. Thus, we need to pay more attention to the Carpinus plants that are not yet extinct but are endangered. Here, we employed the species distribution model (SDM) considering different climate change scenarios and human footprint to test the potential habitat changes of three Carpinus species (C. oblongifolia, C. tientaiensis, and C. purpurinervis) in the future. Our results showed that the mean diurnal range of temperature (MDRT), isothermality, mean temperature of wettest quarter, and human footprint were the most influential factors determining the distribution of C. oblongifolia. Precipitation seasonality (coefficient of variation), MDRT, and precipitation of driest quarter were the most important climatic factors affecting C. tientaiensis. The minimum temperature of the coldest month was the most important factor in the distribution of C. purpurinervis. Our results also showed that the three species had different adaptability and habitat change trends under the future climate change scenarios, although they belong to the same genus. The potential habitats of C. oblongifolia would expand in the future, while the potential habitats of C. tientaiensis and C. purpurinervis would decrease for the same period. The predicted changes of these three endangered species on temporal and spatial patterns could provide a theoretical basis for their conservation strategies.Forestry, Faculty ofNon UBCForest and Conservation Sciences, Department ofReviewedFacult

Predicting Potential Habitat of a Plant Species with Small Populations under Climate Change: Ostryarehderiana

Ostrya rehderiana is a famous plant species with extremely small populations. With ongoing global climate change, the extremely small populations would face more uncertainties and risks, including the loss of genetic diversity and extirpation. Thus, assessing the impact of climate change on suitable habitat of O. rehderiana is particularly important for its conservation and restoration. Here, we built niche models with climate variables and soil and human footprint variables. Furthermore, new methods were applied to avoid confounding effects between climate and soil and human footprint variables to simulate the potential habitats of O. rehderiana in current and future climates. We found that the Hargreaves climatic moisture deficit, degree-days below 0 °C, chilling degree-days, and the temperature difference between mean warmest month temperature and mean coldest month temperature, or continentality, were the most important climate factors. The topsoil USDA texture classification, topsoil cation exchange capacity of (clay), and topsoil sodicity (ESP) were the key soil factors determining the suitable distribution of O. rehderiana. Compared with soil factors, human footprint has less influence on the suitable distribution of O. rehderiana. The niche range of this species was projected to expand and shift to north in the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 scenario for the 2050s. Our study results could be referenced in further extremely small populations ecological restoration studies and provide the scientific strategies for the conservation and restoration of O. rehderiana.Forestry, Faculty ofNon UBCForest and Conservation Sciences, Department ofReviewedFacultyOthe

Study on Breeding of a New Hybrid Cymbidium Variety Yuqinglan

【Objective】To carry out cross breeding of high-quality Hybrid Cymbidium by using Hybrid Cymbidium germplasm resources, observe the performance of main target traits of offspring, and obtain new Hybrid Cymbidium varieties that meet the requirements of target traits.【Method】With Cymbidium sinense Yunv and C. lancifolium Wen Yin-1 as parents, conventional hybridization and seed culture of Hybrid Cymbidium were carried out. The characters of hybrid offspring were investigated and analyzed, and compared with their parents and control varieties Moye Amethyst.【Result】A new excellent Hybrid Cymbidium variety Yuqinglan was bred through the mixed selection breeding program. The collective hybrid was registered in the British Royal Horticultural Society under the name of Cymbidium SCAU Love Song. The results of variety comparison and many years of multi-point experiments show that Yuqinglan has compact plant type, erect leaves, erect inflorescences, 9.5 flowers on average, yellow white flowers with light fragrance, 5.6 cm in horizontal diameter and 5.9 cm in vertical diameter. It is cultivated in simple greenhouses in Guangzhou, and starts to flower in late December. Its single flower life is 30 days, and its ornamental period is 50 days. It is different from its parents in plant type, leaf type, and flower type, and its ornamental period is better than their parents, and it is more ornamental and disease resistant than the control Moye Amethyst, and it also has the characteristics of continuous flowering and forming flower lateral branches, which is the first report on orchids.【Conclusion】The new excellent Hybrid Cymbidium variety Yuqinglan, which has been bred through cross breeding and innovative improvement methods, has good characters and strong ornamental ability, and has broad prospects for popularization and application