Characteristics and environmental interpretation of communities of Taxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc., a plant species with extremely small populations

In this paper, the Taxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc. community was taken as a breakthrough point, and 21 plots with Taxus cuspidata distribution were selected for community survey. From the sampled plant and environmental data, the characteristics and main influencing factors of Taxus cuspidata communities were studied by systematic clustering, RDA analysis, and variance decomposition. Results showed that: (1) A total of 107 species belonging to 90 genera and 48 families were recorded, and Taxus cuspidata communities exhibited high species richness. The Taxus cuspidata communities could be divided into four types: i.e., Pinus koraiensis-Tilia amurensis forest, Pinus koraiensis-Picea jezoensis-Abies nephrolepis forest, Pinus koraiensis-Acer forest, and Pinus koraiensis-Betula costata forest. (2) Temperature, precipitation, forest type, and soil pH significantly affected species composition of the Taxus cuspidata communities, with overall temperature being the most significant factor.However, the main effects of environmental factors in different forest types were different. (3) Climatic, topographic, soil, and biological factors jointly explained 49.85% of Taxus cuspidata community distribution. Among the above factors, topographic and soil factors had the largest individual explanatory power (15.70%), followed by climatic (14.96%) and biological factors (9.79%). In conclusion, due to both natural and human interference, the Taxus cuspidata communities are diverse, and the population characteristics of Taxus cuspidata is different among the communities. Taxus cuspidata is mainly distributed in Pinus koraiensis-Tilia amurensis and Pinus koraiensis-Picea jezoensis-Abies nephrolepis forests, and the other two community types have a guiding significance for Taxus cuspidata reintroduction protection. In addition, different protection measures should be considered for the different community types.