Plant Diversity of Sphagnum Mire at Qizimei Mountains in Western Hubei Province

We investigated the vegetation of sphagnum mire at Qizimei Mountains in Western Hubei Province and analyzing the species composition,association types,biomass of plant communities,importance value of species and species diversity characteristics of each association.The results show that the species composition of the mire is relatively rich.94 species of plants,belonging to 65 genera of 41 families,were recorded.The mire vegetation can be divided into 9 associations.Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre,Juncus setchuensis and Viola verecunda appears in all of the 9 associations.The biomass of Ass.Carex taliensis-Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre is maximal while Ass.Carex fargesii-Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre is minimal in 9 associations.The ratio of biomass of Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre to total biomass of association is from 74.78% to 91.18%.The average coverage of Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre in the mire is 88.6%.The importance value of Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre is greater than that of other species in 7 associations.It is found that Ass.Lycopus coreanus var.cavaleriei+Scirpus lushanensis-Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre possess the highest richness indices(R);Ass.Carex fargesii-Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre possess the highest dominance indices(C);Ass.Lycopus coreanus var.cavaleriei+Juncus setchuensis-Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre possess the highest diversity indices(H’);and Ass.Juncus setchuensis+Carex alliiformis-Sphagnum palustre ssp.palustre possess the highest evenness indices(J).