由于拥有极高的生物多样性以及大量的濒危物种，山区多为世界生物多样性保护热点地区，山地生物多样性保护在全球生物多样性保护中具有极其重要的地位。在保护国际（Conservation International）认定的34个世界生物多样性保护热点地区中，亚洲有10个，其中的4个完全为山区，其它6个热点地区中山区也占有极大比重。山地生物多样性保护在我国生物多样性保护中具有极其重要的地位。在中国境内的国际多样性热点地区大多都分布在山区。而生物多样性在山区空间和时间上的分布格局是设计山区保护区的基础。但相关的定量研究在亚洲范围内相对缺乏。

在系统进化与生物地理学研究组杨君兴研究员和杨晓君研究员指导下，吴飞博士通过对云南中部哀牢山鸟类空间和时间分布规律的研究发现：尽管研究区域并不是很大，但鸟类组成的空间异质性极高，鸟类组成沿海拔梯度的变化最快，坡向次之；低海拔地区鸟类组成的空间异质性要比高海拔地区高。这些结果表明设计山区保护区时，不能仅仅保护位于山顶部的成熟林，还要考虑到保护不同海拔带以及坡向的植被。考虑到地海拔带鸟类组成的空间异质性要比高海拔地区高，低海拔带的保护区面积应当比高海拔带保护区面积大。另外，本项研究也发现：与之前一些大尺度上的研究结果相反，尽管哀牢山西坡海拔跨度只有东坡的4/5，但西坡物种多样性要比东坡明显要高，这一结果暗示在设计地区性山区保护区系统时，地区性的研究是极为必要的。

该研究成果已在生物多样性保护刊物Diversity and Distributions上发表。审稿人认为在亚洲，山区生物多样性时间和空间分布规律的研究极少，本项研究对于亚洲山地生物多样性保护以及山地保护区设计具有重要意义。（生 物 谷Bioon.com）

生 物 谷推荐英文摘要

Diversity and Distributions DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2010.00710.x

Additive diversity partitioning as a guide to regional montane reserve design in Asia: an example from Yunnan Province, China
Fei Wu1,2, Xiao Jun Yang1,*, Jun Xing Yang1,*

Aim Data on spatial and temporal turnover in species composition within a region is essential to design regional protected areas. Montane systems are often recognized as biodiversity hotspots. The primary objective of this study is to identify patterns of montane bird diversity across multiple spatial and temporal scales using an additive diversity partitioning framework.

Location The Ailao Mountains, central Yunnan Province, China.

Methods We used point counts to sample bird communities in four elevational zones, on eastern and western slopes, during both the breeding and the non-breeding seasons. Diversity (richness and Shannon) was partitioned across space (points, elevational zones and slopes) and time (seasons). We used permutation tests to compare observed values to values expected by random chance. A complementary cluster analysis was also used to evaluate beta diversity.

Results Overall, the gamma diversity was attributed to significantly higher beta diversity (relative to that of randomization tests) among elevational zones and, to a lesser extent, between slopes. For Shannon–Wiener Index, beta diversity between seasons was significantly higher than expected and had a similar contribution to the gamma diversity as with beta diversity between slopes. Hierarchical cluster analysis supported the findings for Shannon–Wiener Index. The contribution of beta diversity among points to gamma diversity within each elevational zone generally lessened with increasing elevation.

Main conclusions Our results show significantly high levels of beta diversity among elevational zones and between slopes, as well as between seasons for Shannon diversity, in a small area of the Ailao Mountain range. Thus, a regional montane reserve system should cover the entire elevational gradient and multiple slopes, rather than only the montane crest. Furthermore, higher pattern diversity in lower elevational zones suggests that larger areas should be preserved at lower elevational zones. Finally, the design of regional reserve systems require more studies conducted at multiple seasons at a regional scale.