Spatial Distribution Pattern of Medicinal Plant Resources in Gansu Province and Driving Factors / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo clarify the spatial distribution characteristics of medicinal plant resources in Gansu province， analyze the causes， changing trends， and driving factors of the spatial differentiation， and thus lay a scientific basis for the rational development and sustainable development of medicinal plant resources in this province. MethodBased on the data of The Fourth National Survey of Chinese Medicine Resources， the richness and spatial distribution difference of medicinal plant resources in 87 counties （districts） of Gansu province were analyzed via the global spatial autocorrelation analysis， trend surface analysis， local spatial autocorrelation analysis， and hotspot analysis. Moreover， the correlation of vegetation type， soil texture， annual average temperature， annual average precipitation， and altitude with the spatial distribution pattern of the medicinal plant resources was discussed. ResultCounties （districts） with high or low richness of medicinal plant resources in Gansu province were respectively clustered together. To be specific， counties （districts） with high richness of the medicinal resources were mainly in southeastern Gansu， while those with low richness in northwestern Gansu. The leading driving factors affecting the cold and hot spots included vegetation type， soil texture， and average annual rainfall. ConclusionThe species richness of medicinal plant resources in Gansu province rises from west to east and from north to south. The natural driving factors are the key to the diversity and spatial distribution pattern of medicinal plant resources， which show significant influence on them.