Conservation status of a plant family with high endemism, the Primulaceae, in China

Primroses, ca 1000 species from the family Primulaceae, are mostly distributed in high mountains and attract people's attention with their high ornamental value. However, they are increasingly threatened by human activities and climate change in recent decades. China harbors more than half of global primrose species, most of which are endemic. To strengthen studies on their conservation, we established a distribution database for primroses in China, including 12 genera and 535 speceies. Based on this database, we explored the geographic pattern of the richness of primrose species in relation to environmental factors and identified conservation priority areas. The results showed that the primrose richness was highest in the mountain areas from the eastern Himalayas to the Hengduan Mountains, with habitat heterogeneity and temperature seasonality together shaping that pattern. Furthermore, the richnesses of endemic and threatened primroses were strongly affected by the long-term climate s...