Impact of geological and climate drivers on plant biodiversity patterns in the Hengduan mountains, China

The region harbors many endemic species, which suggests that in contrast to other mountain ranges principally shaped by colonisation from other sources, most of the events of speciation that built up the diversity of the Hengduan Mountains occurred locally as supported by a very high rate of endemism. The exceptional nature of the Hengduan Mountains for biodiversity is evident in terrestrial organisms such as plants.

The doctoral project of Yaquan Chang is to understand the impact of geological and climate processes on plant biodiversity patterns in the Yunnan Mountains region. She uses species richness and distribution models, to develop high resolution biodiversity maps. Thus, she will be able to better understand biodiversity maintenance mechanisms in the Hengduan Mountains and the efficiency of geological features acting as dispersal barriers for genetic diversity of plants.