Journal of Fairylake Botanical Garden 11 (3- 4)：12～26 (2012) Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong 1 *Li ZHANG 2 *Richard T. CORLETT (Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China; Current address: Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Southern Subtropical Plant Diversity, Fairylake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen & Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518004, Guangdong, China) 1 2 (Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China; Current address: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla 666303, Yunnan, China) Abstract: The moss flora of Hong Kong consists of 238 species, of which 127 were identified as of conservation concern. The analysis on threatened taxa showed that: (1) Non-tropical species are more likely to be rare or threatened than tropical ones; (2) The density of rare, very rare, and threatened taxa is much higher in high altitude regions than at low altitude, and they occur more often than expected on north aspects; (3) Eighty-seven threatened taxa (73.7%) were found entirely or largely within Protected Areas, and 31 (26.3%) entirely or largely outside; (4) Sixteen hot spots of conservation importance have been identified. Presently, the threats faced by local bryophytes are minor. Air pollution and global warming will potentially have a significant influence over local bryophytes in the long term. Recommendations for the conservation of Hong Kong bryophytes include setting up protected sites outside of the current conservation areas, reducing pollution, including bryophytes in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), training local bryologists, and increasing public awareness. Key words: Conservation, Hong Kong, Local Restrictedness (LRS), Mosses, Overall Conservation Status (OCS) 香 港藓类植 物的保育 研究 １* 张力 ２* 高力行 1 (香港 大学 生态 学 及生物多 样性学 学 系，香 港 薄扶林 道。 目前工作单位 ：深圳 市中国 科学院仙 湖 植物园 深圳 市南亚 热带植物 多 样性重点 实验室 ，广东深 圳 518004) 2 (香港大学 生态 学 及生物多 样性学 学系，香 港 薄扶林道 。 目前工 作 单位：中 国科学 院西双版 纳 热带植物 园，云 南 勐腊 666303) 摘 要: 香 港 的 藓 类 植 物 区 系 含238种 ， 其 中127种 需 引 起 保 育 关 注 。 我 们 分 析 了 香 港 受 威 胁 的 藓 类 植 物 显 示 ： （1） 非 热 带 性 质 的 种 类 比 热 带 性 质 的 种 类 更 易 于 稀 有 ， 并 受 到 威 胁 ； （2） 分 布 于 高 海 拔 地 区 的 稀 有 、 非 常 稀 有 和 受 威 胁 的 种 类 比 低 海 拔 地 区 要 高 ， 而 且 他 们 分 布 在 北 坡 的 比 例 也 比 预 期 的 高 ； （3）87种 受 威 胁 的 种 类 （ 占 所 有 受 威 胁 种 类 的73.7%） 完 全 或 大 部 分 分 布 于 保 护 区 内 ， 仅31种 （ 占 所 有 受 威 胁 种 类 的26.3%） 完 全 或 大 部 分 分 布 于 保 护 区 外 ；( 4) 16个 具 有 保 育 重 要 性 的 分 布 热 点 被认定。目前，香港本地苔藓植物面临的威胁较小。空气污染和全球变暖对本地苔藓植物将会产生较为严重且长期的影响。 为更好地保育香港的苔藓植物，建议在现有的保护区外，设立一些小的保育地、减轻污染、将苔藓植物纳入环境影响评估、 培训本地苔藓专家及增强 公众意 识 。 关键词: 保育，香港，本 地局限等 级 （LRS） ，藓类， 整体 保 育等级 （OCS） 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Conservation should not only be concentrated on organisms which are large, obvious, and of direct economical value. Bryophytes, previously neglected by conservationists, are attracting more and more attention, particularly in the last decade. Two reasons have made conservation of bryophytes possible: the first is that conservationists have realized that every group of organisms, whatever their economic value and body size, should be equally protected to avoid extinction; the second is that the bryological knowledge has been greatly improved over the past twenty years. *Correespondence authors: zhangli@scib.ac.cn and corlett@xtbg.org.cn 12 Progress on the conservation of bryophytes varies greatly around the world. Europe is the best continent in terms of bryophyte conservation (European Committee for Conservation of Bryophytes, 1995; Hodgetts, 1996). Twenty-two countries have produced Red Lists for bryophytes, and several countries have included bryophytes on the lists of protected species (Hallingbäck & Hodgetts, 2000). On the other hand, most developing countries are lagged far behind, especially those in tropical regions which have suffered severe threats to their bryophytes. Worldwide activities on bryophyte conservation have been well reviewed by Hallingbäck & Hodgetts (2000). Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong Conservation of bryophytes in China was a new field, which began not more than ten years ago. Available papers are quite scattered and non-systematic (Cao, 1992; Chen, 1993; Jia & Wu, 1995, 1998; Tan & Iwatsuki, 1996; Wu, 1998; Wu et al., 1997; Zhu et al., 1994). Some species and places have been identified as of conservation importance, threats have been recognized, and possible measures have been recommended. Wu (1998) estimated that there were more than 30 species either threatened or endangered in China, and at least 5 species were confirmed extinct. Obviously, these figures were extremely underestimated. In December 2004, a special international workshop on the conservation of biodiversity of Chinese bryophytes was held in Shanghai, and suggested 82 species of bryophytes as the first batch of Chinese red list of endangered bryophytes. Although far from comprehensive, this was an important milestone in terms of the conservation of Chinese bryophytes (Cao et al., 2006a, 2006b; Zhang, 2009). The situation in Hong Kong is even worse. Up to n o w, n o t h i n g h a s b e e n d o n e o n t h e b r y o p h y t e conservation. It is the right time to start some work now. Sönderström et al. (1992) and Hallingbäck & Hodgetts (2000) proposed schemes of four and five steps f o r t h e c o n s e r v a t i o n p r o c e s s , r e s p e c t i v e l y. F o r thoroughness, we have slightly modified their conservation process, and proposed a six step scheme instead (Table 1). This is followed in the present study. Table 1. Comparison of different conservation processes Hallingbäck & Hodgetts (2000) Söderström et al. (1992) recognizing the recognizing and distribution of Step 1 listing rare and decreasing species rareand decreasing species recording their assessing their Step 2 distribution and population trends biological threats and extinction risks The present one recognizing and listing threatened species recording their distributions and threats proposing Step 3 conservation programs proposing conservation programs proposing conservation programs Step 4 executing these programs executing these programs Executing these programs evaluating the effectiveness of the programs evaluating the effectiveness of the programs Step 5 - Step 6 - - revising the programs 1.2 Research site Hong Kong lies on the south China coast, 22 9’ o 22 37’N, 113 52’ - 114 30’ E, with a land area about 1 100 o o o km 2. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. The landscape of Hong Kong is generally rugged and hilly, with such landscapes occupying about 75% of the total land area. Tai Mo Shan is the highest mountain with the top reaching 957 m. Geologically, most of Hong Kong is underlain by igneous rocks of Jurassic age (Dudgeon & Corlett, 1994). Hong Kong is about 130 km south of the Tropic of Cancer, and has a subtropical climate with distinct humid and dry seasons. Despite its small land area, there are distinct climatic gradients in Hong Kong. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 1,300 mm at Waglan Island in the extreme southeast of Hong Kong waters to more than 3,000 mm near the summit of Tai Mo Shan, with about 80% falling between May and September in all areas. Mean annual temperate ranges from 22.8 C in lowland o Kowloon to 18.3 C near the summit of Tai Mo Shan. Subzero temperatures and frost occur annually at the highest altitudes and less frequently down to around 400 450 m on Tai Mo Shan, and down to sea level in the northern New Territories (Corlett, 1992; Dudgeon & Corlett, 1994; Hong Kong Observatory, 2000). Deforestation of coastal South China started at least 1000 years ago, and the primary, evergreen or semievergreen forests which used to cover Hong Kong were nearly completely cleared by the seventeenth century, with only some small patches surviving in high altitude, remote and steep regions (Corlett, 1997; Zhuang & Corlett, 1997). The vegetation today consists of secondary forests (10%), shrubland (37%), grassland (16%), and plantations (5%) (Ashworth et al., 1993; Corlett, 2000). It is amazing that despite its small land area and the long-term massive human disturbance, a very diverse flora and fauna still survive (Corlett, 2000; Dudgeon & Corlett, 1994). o 1.3 Legal basis for the protection of terrestrial biodiversity in Hong Kong Currently, there are three approaches relevant to the biodiversity conservation in Hong Kong. 1.3.1 Protected areas Despite the small area and densely population, Hong Kong probably has a higher proportion of its land area protected than any other region or country in the world. More than 40% of Hong Kong’s land area is under varied conservation management (Planning Department, 2000). A total of 23 Country Parks and 15 Special Areas (four of which are located outside Country Parks), with a total area of 41,582 ha, have been designated currently. Hong Kong’s protected area legislation is far more complex than one would expect for such a small place 13 Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong (Corlett, 2001). The major types of protected areas relating to the terrestrial environment are Country Parks, Special Areas, Restricted Areas, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Conservation Areas, and Green Belts. Only Country Parks, Special Areas and Restricted Areas receive full protection from both development and other disturbances. The Restricted Areas (Mai Po, Yim Tso Ha and Sham Wat Wan) are of negligible importance for bryophytes. Country Parks and Special Areas (of which only Tai Po Kau is important) have almost identical legal status and are hereafter referred to as Protected Areas. SSSIs, Conservation Areas, and Green Belts, to a lesser extent, are protected against development but not against other forms of disturbance. All bryophytes are legally protected inside Protected Areas, along with all other organisms. 1.3. 2 Protected species The Forestry Regulations under the Forests and Countryside Ordinance (Cap. 96A) list all species of the families Cyatheaceae, Magnoliaceae, and Orchidaceae, the genera Camellia, Illicium, Lagerstroemia, Nepenthes, and Rhododendron, and another 19 species of vascular plants as protected species. No bryophytes are included. 1.3. 3 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) An Environmental Impact Assessment aims to ensure the development projects have no disastrous environmental consequences (Gilpin, 1995). The environment is often broadly defined to include not only harvestable natural resources, but also air and water quality, the lives of local people, and endangered species (Primack, 1998). The Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) which came into effect in 1998 requires EIAs before all major development projects. According to the Guidelines for Ecological Assessment (Annex 16) and Criteria for Evaluating E c o l o g i c a l I m p a c t ( A n n e x 8 ) o f t h e Te c h n i c a l Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (Cap. 499, S16), bryophytes would also have to be considered in EIAs, if there was documented scientific information available on their rarity. The previous overlooking of bryophytes in EIAs was presumably because of both lack of expertise and lack of any publications to evaluate the results of a bryophyte survey. 1.4 Aims The main purposes of this study are: (1) to identify species and sites of conservation importance, (2) to analyze the characteristics of the threatened taxa, (3) to evaluate the main threats, (4) to recommend strategies for 14 the conservation of bryophyte diversity in Hong Kong, and (5) to supply basic information for the future EIA process. 2 Materials & Methods 2.1 Data Most of the data on which this study is based were collected in the field surveys from 1997 to 2000. The threatened taxa, which were defined as species which have conservation importance and merit protection, were identified based on the analysis of about 2,250 specimen records and published records. The analysis of the characteristics of threatened taxa was based on the 554 records in a database of threatened taxa. Two ruderal species, Bryum argenteum and Funaria hygrometrica, were excluded from the current accessment. They are classified as Not Evaluated (NE). Totally, 236 taxa of mosses were evaluated in the present study. 2.2 Definition of site In the present evaluation, the site is the basic unit for describing the abundance of a taxon. A site is defined as a population which is separated from the nearest population by a vertical distance of at least 50 m, and/or a horizontal distance of at least 200 m. For example, if a species was found at two places in the same locality with an altitudinal separation of more than 50 m, they were treated as two sites. On the other hand, if the first population of a species is found at 500 m, the second at 540 m, and the third at 580 m, they were treated as one site because their vertical separation were less than 50 m. The number of sites included those reported by others with detailed information. These separations were chosen because populations with at least this degree of separation are expected to be both demographically independent (i.e. the growth or decline of one population will be independent of the growth or decline of the other) and usually subject to independent threats (e.g. from road or housing developments). Thus two sites by this definition will be more secure than one. 2.3 Threatened categories and criteria The IUCN criteria (IUCN, 1994) have been used for bryophytes, with minor changes (Hallingbäck, 1998a; Hallingbäck et al. 1998). Unfortunately, most of the data used in the present chapter were collected in the past several years, which is definitely a short duration for conservation assessment. Therefore the IUCN criteria were not applicable in the present study. For example, it is difficult to know whether the population has decreased Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong or increased over the past ten years. The present treatment was more or less a compromise. Although the classes of threats are similar to those of the IUCN Red List of threatened species (with minor changes), the criteria used were totally different. Therefore, the classes used here are not directly comparable with those used elsewhere. Two different categories were employed in the present study. The first one, Local Restrictedness (LR), indicates the local abundance of the taxon at present. The second, Overall Conservation Status (OCS), indicates the conservation importance of the taxon. Therefore, each taxon was separately evaluated for the two categories. The small size of bryophytes, and the fact that they are almost unidentifiable in the field makes them a group which is easily overlooked or underestimated. Therefore, the allocation to threat categories is dynamic and will undergo changes as more data are collected. 2.3.1 Categories of Local Restrictedness (LR) Species with reliable post-1963 records were divided into Very Rare, Rare, Common, and Very Common, on the basis of how many sites they were found at in Hong Kong (respectively, 1-3, 4-6, 7-12, and > 12). These divisions are based on our subjective assessment of how many independent populations (i.e. sites, as defined above) are needed for a species to be secure in Hong Kong. Local Restrictedness (LR) could be classified into the following categories: (1) Data Deficient (DD): This included taxa with unclear taxonomical status, and taxa reported by others based on specimens collected after 1963 but with no detailed locality information, e.g. some species of genera Ctenidium, Ectropothecium, and Macromitrium. (2) Probably Locally Extinct (PLE): Taxa based on historical specimens which were collected prior to 1963, and where there is no reliable evidence to confirm their occurrence afterwards (Table 2). This year (1963) was chosen as a dividing date because it marks a large gap in the study of Hong Kong bryophytes, between the study of Dixon in 1933 and the field collections by Dr. Z. Iwatsuki in 1963. Moreover, during the period 1933-1963 there were massive changes in the Hong Kong landscape as the result of the war and Japanese occupation, followed by a decline in the population of remote rural areas. After 1963, the next study on Hong Kong bryophytes was carried out by Gao and But in 1988, which is a shorter gap. (3) Very Rare (VR): Taxa that were found at 1-3 sites, including published records based on specimens collected after 1963. (4) Rare (R): Taxa that were found at 4-6 sites. Table 2. Probable extinct taxa of Hong Kong mosses Species Barbula unguiculata Bryum atrovirens Calymperes lonchophyllum Calymperes palisotii var. molluccense Campylopus serratus Dicranoloma cylindrothecium Entodontopsis anceps Hyophila javanica Hyophila setschwanica Macromitrium ferriei Macromitrium subincurvum Sematophyllum subpinnatum f. tristiculum Stereodontopsis pseudorevoluta Thuidium recognitum var. delicatum Vesicularia inflectens Weissia crispa Family Pottiaceae Bryaceae Calymperaceae Calymperaceae Dicranaceae Dicranaceae Stereodontaceae Pottiaceae Pottiaceae Orthotrichaceae Orthotrichaceae Sematophyllaceae Hypnaceae Thuidiaceae Hypnaceae Pottiaceae (5) Common (C): Taxa that were found at 7-12 sites. (6) Very Common (VC): Taxa that were found at more than 12 sites. 2.3.2 Categories of Overall Conservation Status (OCS) Overall Conservation Status considers not only the current local abundance of taxa, but also additional information if available. For example, the distributional ranges outside Hong Kong. The ‘site’ used here has the same meaning as defined in 2.2. OCS could be classified into the following categories: (1) Data Deficient (DD): It is identical to DD in LR. (2) Probably Locally Extinct (PLE): It is identical to PLE in LR. (3) Critically Endangered (CR): Taxa that were found only in one site. It corresponds to VR in LR partly. (4) Endangered (EN): Taxa that were found in 2-3 sites. It corresponds to VR in LR partly. (5) Vulnerable (VU): Taxa that were found in 4-6 sites. It corresponds to R in LR. (6) Near Threatened (NT): Taxa that satisfied both: a) more than 7 sites in Hong Kong, and b) their distribution outside Hong Kong includes not more than 3 provinces in China (including Hong Kong), and/or 3 countries (including China), or both. It corresponds to C and VC in LR partly. (7) Least Concern (LC): Most of taxa belonging to C and VC in LR, except for those taxa included in NT above. 2.4 Definition of a hot spot The hot spots indicated localities with more than 6 threatened taxa. This number “6” was chosen because it results in a set of hotspots which is both useful, in terms of the number of threatened taxa included, and practical in the local conservation context. If 7 threatened species is taken as the criterion, there are only 14 hot spots in 15 Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong total, while with 5 the number of hot spots increases to 22. The hotspots included localities situated either in or outside Protected Areas. In general, they are more or less natural in terms of boundaries, with land areas ranging from several to several hundred hectares. For example, a hill or an aspect of a mountain. 2.5 Geographical information system (GIS) analyses The GIS analyses were carried out to determine the exact distribution of threatened species of mosses in Hong Kong in relation to protected area boundaries and the distribution of rare vascular plants. The coverage is geo-referenced to the Hong Kong 1980 Grid System based on the 1:20000 topographic maps (HM20C Series) published by the Survey and Mapping Office of Hong Kong Government. The accuracy of recording resolution is 10-50 m. 3 Results 3.1 Threatened taxa One hundred and twenty-seven taxa (53.8% of all mosses) were identified as threatened (Appendix 1). They included all taxa belonging to status of CR, EN, VU, and NT in OCS (Table 3). It is worth noting that 16 taxa (6.8%) have been postulated as locally extinct (Table 2 ). There were 114 taxa with the status VR or R (48.3%) (Table 4). Taxa of LC (76, 32.2%) are the majority of the common, non-threatened taxa. Table 3. Overall Conservation Status of 236 moss taxa Categories DD No. of 17 taxa % of total taxa 7.2% PLE CR EN VU NT LC Total 16 52 34 28 13 76 236 6.8% 22.0% 14.4% 11.9% 5.5% 32.2% 100.0% Table 4. Local Restrictedness of 236 moss taxa Categories DD No. of 17 taxa % of total taxa 7.2% PLE VR R C VC Total 16 86 28 38 51 236 6.8% 36.4% 11.9% 16.1% 21.6% 100.0% 3.2 Characteristics of threatened taxa It is essential to know the characteristics of threatened taxa for proposing an effective conservation management. rare, very rare and threatened taxa are lower and the proportions of East Asian and Temperate taxa are higher than for all mosses. This implies that non-tropical taxa are more likely to be rare or threatened in Hong Kong than tropical ones. Table 5. Phytogeographical patterns of Rare (28 taxa), Very Rare (86), Threatened taxa (127) and all mosses (238). The classification of the phytogeographical patterns of taxa was followed Zhang & Corlett (2003). Phytogeographical pattern 1. Cosmopolitan 0 (0.0%) 2 (2.3%) 2 (1.6%) 2. Pantropical 4 (14.3%) 7 (8.1%) 11 (8.7%) 29 (12.2%) 3. Palaeotropical 1 (3.6%) 9 (10.5%) 12 (9.4%) 19 (8.0%) 4. Tropical Asian 0 (0.0%) 5 (5.8%) 16 6 (4.7%) 9 (3.8%) 14 (5.9%) 5. Tropical Asian-Tropical 1 (3.6%) 4 (4.7%) 5 (3.9%) 13 (5.5%) Australian-Oceanian 6. Asian-Australian3 (10.7%) 10 (11.6%) 13 (10.2%) 33 (13.8%) Oceanian 7. Eastern Asian 6 (21.4%) 17 (19.8%) 28 (22.0%) 40 (16.8%) 8. Eastern & Southern Asian 2 (7.1%) 1 (1.2%) 4 (3.1%) 7 (2.9%) 9. East Asian-Malesian 0 (0.0%) 1 (1.2%) 1 (0.8%) 5 (2.1%) 10. Eastern AsianIndomalesian 3 (10.7%) 5 (5.8%) 8 (6.3%) 14 (5.9%) 11. Transpacific 1 (3.6%) 4 (4.7%) 5 (3.9%) 11 (4.6%) 12. Temperate 3 (10.7%) 14 (16.3%) 18 (14.2%) 26 (10.9%) 13. Endemic to China 4 (14.3%) 14. Unknown 0 (0.0%) 3 (3.5%) 3 (2.4%) 4 (1.7%) 28 86 127 238 (100.0%) (100.0%) (100.0%) (100.0%) Total 4 (4.7%) 11 (8.7%) 14 (5.9%) Table 6. Phytogeographical patterns of the Hong Kong rare, very rare, threatened and all moss taxa, based on the transformation of the data in Table 5 (Patterns 1 and 14 have been excluded). Please check Zhang & Corlett (2003) for details. Present No. of rareNo. of very No. of No. of moss Original threatened patterns patterns taxa (%) rare taxa (%) taxa (%) taxa (%) in Table 5 Tropical 6 (21.4%) 25 (30.9%) 34 (27.9%) 75 (33.3%) East Asian 6 (21.4%) 17 (21.0%) 28 (23.0%) 40 (17.8%) Temperate 4 (14.3%) 18 (22.2%) 23 (18.9%) 37 (16.4%) Endemic to China Uncertain Total 3.2.1 Phytogeographical patterns of threatened taxa The analysis on phytogeographical patterns followed Zhang & Corlett (2003). The results of phytogeographical analysis on rare, very rare, threatened, and all moss taxa showed the trends are almost the same that the tropical patterns (Patterns 2, 3, 4, and 5) are dominant, followed by East Asian and Temperate (Table 5, 6). However, the proportions of tropical taxa among No. of Rare No. of Very No. Of No. of total threatened taxa (%) Rare taxa (%) taxa (%) moss taxa (%) 4 (14.3%) 4 (4.9%) 11 (9.0%) 14 (6.2%) 2, 3, 4, 5 7 11, 12 13 8 (28.6%) 17 (21.0%) 26 (21.3%) 59 (26.2%) 6, 8, 9, 10 28 (100.0%) 81 (100.0%)122 (100.0%) 225 (100.0%) 3.2.2 Altitudinal distribution of threatened taxa The numbers of very rare and threatened taxa are similar (8-15 and 23-38 respectively) within each 100 m altitudinal belt, but the numbers of rare taxa (4-14) are more variable. However, the land area in each altitudinal belt declines rapidly with altitude, so the density of threatened taxa rapidly increases (Table 7). Note that 27 Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong 3.2.3 Aspect influence on threatened taxa Not surprisingly, rare, very rare, and threatened taxa occur less frequently than all moss taxa in different aspects (Table 8). The smaller differences between the rare, very rare, threatened taxa and all mosses in the West And North aspects imply that both aspects are more favorable to threatened taxa than other aspects. Because fewer taxa were found on the West aspect, it is concluded that the North aspect was most important for rare, very rare, and threatened taxa. Note that taxa which were found in flat land (i.e. no aspect) and without aspect records have been excluded. of 28 rare taxa, 78 of 86 very rare, 122 of 127 threatened, and 205 of 238 all mosses have altitudinal data. Table 7. Threatened taxa richness vs land area of altitudinal sections. * Including about 178.5 km2 of urban area which occupies 16.4% of total land area (Ashworth et al., 1993). No. of Altitudinal Land area % of total No of rare No. of very No. of threatened total moss range (m) (km2) land area taxa (%) rare taxa (%) taxa (%) taxa (%) 54.46 5 (18 .5% ) 15 (19. 2%) 29 (23.8%) 83 (40.5%) 0-100 592.5* 101-200 226.9 20.85 12 (44 .4% ) 15 (19. 2%) 38 (31.1%) 102 (49.8%) 201-300 139.9 12.86 13 (48 .1% ) 11 (14. 1%) 36 (29.5%) 96 (46.8%) 301-400 72.4 6.65 14 (51 .9% ) 9 (11.5%) 32 (26.2%) 95 (46.3%) 401-500 32.9 3.02 13 (48 .1% ) 10 (12. 8%) 34 (27.9%) 86 (42.0%) 501-600 12.8 1.18 10 (37 .0% ) 8 (10. 3%) 26 (21.3%) 74 (36.1%) 601-700 6.2 0.57 9 (33 .3% ) 13 (16. 7%) 29 (23.8%) 82 (40.0%) 701-800 3.2 0.29 10 (37 .0% ) 8 (10. 3%) 24 (19.7%) 62 (30.2%) 801-957 1.2 0.11 4 (14 .8% ) 15 (19. 2%) 23 (18.9%) 59 (28.8%) Total 1,088 100.00 27 78 3.2.4 Distribution of threatened taxa in and outside Protected Areas 205 122 Table 8. Distribution of rare (27), very rare (62), threatened taxa (102), and all taxa (180) vs aspects Aspect E N NE NW S SE SW W 8 (29.6%) 18 (66.7%) 14 (51.9%) 15 (55.6%) 8 (29.6%) 4 (14.8%) 7 (25.9%) 1 (3.7%) Difference between Rare and all moss taxa (%) 16.0% 2.7% 2.1% 4.4% 14.8% 16.9% 7.4% 14.1% No. of Rare taxa (%) No. of Very Rare taxa (%) 8 (12.9%) 28 (45.2%) 12 (19.4%) 16 (25.8%) 7 (11.3%) 4 (6.5%) 5 (8.1%) 2 (3.2%) Difference between Very Rare and all moss taxa (%) 32.7% 24.2% 34.5% 34.2% 33.1% 25.2% 25.2% 14.6% No. of threatened taxa (%) 24 (23.5%) 57 (55.9%) 35 (34.3%) 43 (42.2%) 27 (26.5%) 16 (15.7%) 20 (19.6%) 9 (8.8%) 22.1% 13.5% 19.6% 17.8% 17.9% 16.0% 13.7% 9.0% 82 (45.6%) 125 (69.4%) 97 (53.9%) 108 (60.0%) 80 (44.4%) 57 (31.7%) 60 (33.3%) 32 (17.8%) Difference between threatened and all moss taxa (%) No. of all moss taxa (%) Fig. 1. Distribution of taxa by local restrictedness 17 Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong Fig. 2. Distribution of threatened taxa Table 9. Distribution of threatened taxa in and outside Protected Areas Categories No. of Rare taxa (%) Only in 9 (33.3%) Only outside Both Total 1 (3.7%) 17 (63.0%) 27 (100%) No. of Very Rare taxa (%) 46 (59.0%) 23 (29.5%) 9 (11.5%) 78 (100%) No. of threatened taxa (%) 56 (47.5%) 24 (20.3%) 38 (32.2%) 118 (100%) Of the 118 threatened taxa with GIS data, 56 species (46.3%) were found only in Protected Areas, 24 (20.8%) only outside Protected Areas, and 38 (31.7%) both in and outside Protected Areas (Fig. 1, 2, and Table 9). Of the 38 taxa distributed both in and outside Protected Areas, 22 taxa had most sites within, 9 had the sites half in and half out, and 7 had most outside. Overall, there were 87 threatened taxa (73.7% of 118) which were entirely or largely within Protected Areas, and 31 threatened taxa (26.3%) entirely or largely outside Protected Areas. 3.2.5 Hot spots of threatened taxa of bryophytes Sixteen hot spots with more than 6 threatened taxa were identified based on GIS data (118 taxa and 554 records) (Fig. 3, Table 10). Tai Shing Stream hosted the largest number of threatened species (23). Eleven hot spots which are located within Protected Areas (68.8%) 18 Table 10. Hot spots of threatened taxa of Hong Kong mosses Hot spots Tai Shing Stream (Tai Mo Shan) Protected Areas No. of % of total threatened threatened taxa taxa In 23 19.5% In 21 17.8% In 21 17.8% In 17 14.4% In 14 11.9% In 15 12.7% D’Aguilar Peak In 13 11.0% Shek Kong Stream (Tai Mo Shan) In 11 9.3% Lantau Peak (S) In 10 8.5% Tiu Shau Ngam (Ma On Shan) In 10 8.5% Partly 9 7.6% Out 9 7.6% Out 7 5.9% In 7 5.9% Partly 6 5.1% Out 6 5.1% Ng Tung Chai Falls (Tai Mo Shan) Wong Lung Hang, East Lung Stream (Sunset Peak) Lantau Peak (N) San Shek Wan Stream (Sunset Peak) Wong Lung Hang, Main Stream (Sunset Peak) Tai To Yan Kadoorie Farm (Tai Mo Shan) Sheung Wo Hang Feng Shui Woods Chuen Lung Stream (Tai Mo Shan) Kwun Yam Shan (Tai Lo Shan) Ngau Kwu Long Stream Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong Fig. 3. Map of Hong Kong showing the hot spots of threatened mosses (key: 1: Tai Shing Stream, 2: Ng Tung Chai Falls, 3: Wong Lung Hang (East Lung), 4: Lantau Peak (N), 5: San Shek Wan Stream, 6: Wong Lung Hang (Main Stream), 7: D’Aguilar Peak, 8: Shek Kong Stream, 9: Lantau Peak (S), 10: Tiu Shau Ngam, 11: Tai To Yan, 12: Kadoorie Farm, 13: Sheung Wo Hang Feng Shui Woods, 14: Chuen Lung Stream, 15: Kwun Yam Shan (Tai Lo Shan), and 16: Ngau Kwu Long Stream). are presumably safe. Three hot spots are located outside the Protected Areas. The first one, Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden, is under effective protection and unauthorized destruction and collection are permitted, so is presumably safe. The second one, Sheung Wo Hang Feng Shui Wood, is a Conservation Area. Although it is not a strict zone of conservation, it is on a steep slope, and is therefore presumably secure. The third one, Ngau Kwu Long Stream, is also on a steep slope where access is difficult and also is presumably safe. Tai To Yan, is one of the two hot spots partly in and partly out of Protected Areas, but the slope on the Lam Tsuen side, which is largely outside Protected Areas, is presumed safe owing to its steep and inaccessible topography. Kwun Yam Shan, the second one partly in and partly out of Protected Areas, has only a small section outside, and is presumably largely safe. In total, 93 threatened taxa (73.2% of all the threatened taxa) occurred in the hot spots. 4 Discussion 4.1 Threats The most serious threats to bryophytes worldwide are habitat loss and habitat degradation (Hallingbäck & Hodgetts, 2000). Generally, the identified threats to bryophytes include deforestation, agricultural activities, pollution, commercial exploitation, urbanization, invasive species, collecting, and fire. On the other hand, sometimes, bryophytes have disappeared without any apparent cause, perhaps due to the normal process of succession (Vana, 1992). The threats varied in different regions and with different species. In the case of Hong Kong, the threats to local bryophytes are rather different from those of other regions. Forestry and agricultural activities have almost disappeared, while they are the main threats in other tropical regions. The identified threats to Hong Kong bryophytes seem minor, except for air pollution and global warming, which are uncertain, but may have a larger influence in the future. 19 Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong 4.1.1 Habitat destruction Habitat destruction is the major threat to bryophytes in many countries. It is not true for Hong Kong presently, but it was true previously. For example, Chek Lap Kok, a small island with an area of 2.9 km , situated on the north of Lantau Island, is now the site of the new Hong Kong International Airport. Prior to the construction work, most groups of organisms were extensively investigated, and some important taxa were ex situ translocated, including the endemic Romer’s tree frog (Philautus romeri). But, unfortunately, no work has been done on bryophytes, and no specimens have been collected. All bryophytes in this island have been eradicated during construction. We have no way to know how many and what species have been lived there. This is the real image of most tropical regions. It is anticipated that no project as large as the new airport will be constructed in the near future in Hong Kong. Most development planned for the near future will be in previously-cultivated lowland regions, where few or no threatened taxa are found. 2 4.1.2 Air pollution Bryophytes are among the most sensitive organisms to air pollution. Air pollution will inevitably decrease the diversity of bryophytes, especially epiphytic taxa in urban and industrial environments (Lai, 1998; Rao, 1982). Good examples were studies carried out in the Netherlands, which clearly demonstrated that, with lichens, bryophyte species declined as a result of acidification (SO 2) (1950-1970), and species increased following reductions in SO 2 and increased pH of acid substrates by NH 3 (1970-1990) (Greven, 1992). Pollutants not only affect the areas close to the emission sources, but also remote rural areas (Bates, 2000; Hallingbäck, 1998b). The most important atmospheric pollutants affecting bryophytes are nitrogen oxides (NO x), sulfur dioxide (SO 2), and ammonia (NH 3), and associated acid rain and ozone (O 3) (Bates, 2000). It is hard to say if the overall air quality in Hong Kong has been getting better or worse over the last decade, and thus it is difficult to forecast either positive or negative effects on bryophytes at this moment. The available data show some pollutant gases decreased, and some increased. For example, the overall SO2 concentration in Hong Kong has shown a steady downward trend in the last decade, with the overall annual mean in 1999 about 19% lower than the 1990 value. On the contrary, the overall NO 2 level exhibited a clearly increasing trend over the past 10 years, with an 20 increase of about 44% in 1999 compared to that in 1991. The overall CO level also showed a moderate increase of 27% in 1999 from the 1996 value, and the overall O 3 level also showed a rather steep rise in the past few years (47% from 1995 to 1999) (Air Services Group of Environmental Protection Department, 2000). Moreover, air pollution does not recognize boundaries. Even if Hong Kong has reduced local air pollution greatly, pollution from adjacent regions could still influence the local biodiversity. There is, therefore, still a potential for air pollution to be one of the main threats to the local bryoflora in the long term. 4.1.3 Global warming There is general agreement that the global mean air temperature increased by about 0.6°C over the 20 century. The global mean air temperature is projected to increase by 1.4-5.8°C over the period from 1990 to 2100 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Evidence shows that the global warming in the last 50 years is mostly attributable to human activities, especially the accelerated greenhouse gas emissions. Malcolm & Markham (2000) indicated that the rapid rates of global warming are likely to increase the rates of habitat loss and species extinction, most markedly in the high latitudes of the North Hemisphere. Because global warming will make the original habitats unstable, most organisms must move to new localities. Extensive habitat fragmentation makes such movement difficult for some organisms, and thus will inevitably increase rarity and extinction. Taxa at high altitude were be subjected to more risk than those in the lowland. Accurate climatic projections for the Hong Kong regions are not available. In general, temperature increases may be compensated by vertical migration (an increase of 100 m vertically roughly equals to a temperature decrease of 0.6°C). Therefore, a temperature increase of 1.4-5.8°C requires a vertical migration of 230-970 m to fully compensate. The summit of Tai Mo Shan is at 957 m, so a warming of 1.4-5.8°C will mean the elimination of 25100% of the entire altitudinal range of habitats in Hong Kong. If we take the mid point of the estimated range – an increase of 3.6°C over the century – this would mean the elimination of all taxa which are currently confined above 350 m by high lowland temperatures. We do not know how many species this would be, since factors other than temperature may currently exclude bryophytes from low altitude habitats. But, anyway, if the projections are realized, global warming will become the greatest threat to local bryophytes (especially taxa at high altitude), as well as other organisms. th Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong 4.1.4 Commercial exploitation There is little horticulture usage locally. The first author has found at least two live moss species, Hypnum plumaeformae and Plagiomnium cuspidatum, were sold in Bute Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon. Unfortunately, he cannot get any information from the sellers on where they were collected (by inquiring). It was supposed that they were collected in the Hong Kong countryside, although these species do not belong to any threatened taxa, at least, this collecting may cause damage to the habitat. 4.1.5 Hill fires Hill fires occur frequently in grassland and shrubland during dry (winter) seasons in Hong Kong. Although the number of threatened taxa are fewer in these fire-prone habitats, the threat to threatened species growing there should not be totally overlooked, for example, Archidium ohioense, Campylopus taiwanensis, and Polytrichastrum formosum. 4.1.6 Lack of knowledge In comparison with vascular plants, we have less information on mosses, especially on taxonomy and ecology. The possible consequence of this is some sites with threatened mosses may be destroyed accidentally. In summary, although the local mosses face various threats at present, they seem relatively minor. However, air pollution and global warming may have significant influence over local mosses in the long term. More than 70% of threatened taxa are found within the current protected area system, and most other are in steep and inaccessible sites. This shows that Hong Kong’s current protected area system is playing the most important role in moss conservation. 4.2 Conservation measures recommended 1) To establish protected sites for mosses In general, bryophytes occupy a subordinate ecological role in the communities. They can therefore be conserved only by conserving the entire communities (Scott et al., 1997). Therefore, habitat preservation seems to be the best general approach for bryophyte conservation (Sastre-D. & Tan, 1995; Tan & Pocs, 2000). Taxa within Protected Areas are presumably safe. Therefore, those distributed outside the Protected Areas should be given priority consideration, especially in the lowlands or near urban areas. For such species, the most effective method is to set up protected sites. Owing to the small size and narrow locality of most mosses, the size of protected sites may be as small 0.2 to several hectares in area. The following is an example. Kwu Tong Reservoir (ca. 0.2 hectare) ─ Two CR taxa, Eccremidium brisbanicum and Micromitrium tenerum occurred there. Kwu Tong Reservoir is the only known locality for the first species and genus in China, and one of two confirmed sites for the second species in China. 2) To reduce air pollution Air pollution and global warming are the main potential threats to the bryophytes in Hong Kong. It is well established that pollution does not recognize boundaries. Therefore, besides reducing the air pollution in Hong Kong, for the long term, it is essential to cooperate effectively with the mainland, especially the Pearl River Delta regions of Guangdong Province in reducing air pollution. The only way to reduce the speed of global warming is large and rapid reductions, both regionally and worldwide in greenhouse gas emissions. This is the responsibility of all nations around the world. 3) EIA As indicated before, EIAs do not exclude bryophytes if there is some information to be used. This project supplies some basic information for the future EIA process. 4) To train local bryologists At least one local bryologist is needed for both the EIA process and for monitoring future changes in bryophyte distributions. 5) To increase public awareness Public awareness is important for conservation. The purpose of this is to let the general public know the importance of bryophytes. The picture books of So (1995) and Zhu & So (1996) are a good start. RTHK (Radio and Television Hong Kong) produced a series of programs (Legends of Mountain and Water) in 1999 which included a section on introducing bryophytes to the public. The web site Hong Kong Flora & Vegetation (http://www.hkflora.com) supplies basic information on bryophytes, and about 110 species of bryophytes were linked with photos. 4.3 Future work The results from the current study will function as a baseline, and can also serve as a starting point for the bryophyte conservation in Hong Kong. The Threatened moss database 1 was incorporated into the Biodiversity Survey Database Version 2.0 which has been submitted to the Government in March 2001. After evaluating the 1 Originally, it consisted of 120 taxa and 560 records. After revising recently, two species, Fissidens crenulatus and F. virens as well as 6 records have been removed. 21 Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong present situation, we think that future work should be focused on the following: 1) To monitor and record the population changes of threatened taxa. Eventually, this would allow the use of the IUCN criteria for evaluating conservation status, so the local status of threatened taxa would be comparable with other regions. 2) To strengthen work on liverworts and hornworts. The knowledge of liverworts and hornworts has lagged behind the mosses. Detailed field work, ecology, distribution, and taxonomy are needed. 3) To investigate techniques for increasing the populations of the threatened taxa and establishing new populations in suitable localities. We have done some experiments on transplanting two CR species, Eccrimidium brisbanicum and Micromitrium tenerum, in Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden, Hong Kong, but failed. 4) To compile a Red List (or Red Data Book) of Hong Kong bryophytes. The Red Data Book supplies detailed accounts on the extent and the cause of threats to local bryophytes, and presents suggestions for conservation management. 4.4 Comparisons of bryophytes with other organisms Corlett et al. (2000) estimated that there were about 19% of vascular plants were locally extinct or very rare, and this figure is much lower than that of mosses (43.2%). It seems that the mosses are more vulnerable than vascular plants. On the other hand, it must be kept in mind that, owing to their smaller size and the difficulty of identification in the field, the possibility of overlooking bryophytes is larger compared to vascular plants, and this therefore may give the impression that many bryophytes are rarer than the actual case. Thus, the number of very rare taxa of bryophytes will probably decrease as more and detailed investigations are carried out. We have not compared the distribution between rare vascular plants and threatened or rare and very rare mosses in detail, however, in general they coincide (Figs.4,5). It is reflected that most rare taxa, both rare vascular plants and bryophytes, share similar distribution patterns locally, especially in high altitude areas. To some extent, rare vascular plants can be used as predictors of rare bryophytes, and vice versa. 5 Conclusion In conclusion, we should feel somewhat optimistic. As the existing data show, the local vegetation has been recovering since the end of World War II, and populations of forest-dependant animals are increasing (Corlett, Fig. 4. Comparison of distribution between rare vascular plants and rare and very rare bryophytes 22 Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong Fig. 5. Comparison of distribution between rare vascular plants and threatened bryophytes 2000). If this trend keeps forward, along with reducing air pollution and more careful planning before construction works, the local bryoflora will be seen as safe. Success in Hong Kong will be a good reference for similar regions which have suffered long term human disturbance. Acknowledgements This paper is modified from a thesis of the first author submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hong Kong. We are thankful to Dr. Lawrence K. C. Chau and Ms. Gloria Siu for their invaluable support during the course of study, Ms. Laura Wong for her technical help, and Dr. Jackie Yip for her help on GIS analysis. The study was financially supported by a postgraduate studentship from The University of Hong Kong. Zhang Li would like to thank Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden for supplying him the working and living convenience from November 1997 to April 2000. Note by the first author: This manuscript was finished in the middle of 2003. Slightly change has been made before publication. References Air Services Group of Environmental Protection Department. 2000. Air quality in Hong Kong 1999. From webpage at http://www.info.gov.hk/epd. Ashworth, J. M., R. T. Corlett, D. Dudgeon, D. S. Melville, W. S. M. 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Corlett. 1997. Forest and forest succession in Hong Kong. Journal of Tropical Ecology 14:857-866. Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong Appendix 1. Threatened taxa of Hong Kong mosses Species Family OCS LR Acroporium secundum Aerobryidium wallichii Aerobryopsis praisii Aerobryopsis subdivergens Archidium ohioense Atrichum undulatum var. gracilisetum Barbella convolvens Barbula arcuata Barbula javanica Brachythecium garovaglioides Brachythecium moriense Brachythecium plumosum Brotherella erythrocaulis Brotherella falcata Bryum capillare Bryum coronatum Caduciella guangdongensis Calymperes afzelii Calymperes graeffeanum Campylopus atrovirens Campylopus ericoides Campylopus taiwanensis Cyathophorella tonkinensis Dicranella coarctata var. torrentium Dicranella varia Dicranodontium asperulum Dicranodontium didictyon Dicranoloma assimile Duthiella wallichii Eccremidium brisbanicum Ectropothecium obtusulum Entodon cladorrhizans Entodon concinnus Entodon obtusatus Entodon viridulus Eurhynchium hians Eurhynchium savatieri Fauriella tenerrima Fissidens bryoides var. schmidii Fissidens cf. incognitus Fissidens crispulus var. robinsonii Fissidens curvatus Fissidens gardneri Fissidens geppii Fissidens guangdongensis Fissidens gymnogynus Fissidens jungermannioides Fissidens linearis var. obscurirete Fissidens polypodioides Fissidens serratus Fissidens teysmannianus Fissidens tosanensis Fissidens zollingeri Floribundaria floribunda Garckea flexuosa Gymnostomiella longinervis Haplocladium angustifolium Haplocladium microphyllum Haplohymenium pseudo-triste Himantocladium plumula Holomitrium vaginatum Hookeria acutifolia Hypnum plumaeformae var. minus Sematophyllaceae Meteoriaceae Meteoriaceae Meteoriaceae Archidiaceae Polytrichaceae Meteoriaceae Pottiaceae Pottiaceae Brachytheciaceae Brachytheciaceae Brachytheciaceae Sematophyllaceae Sematophyllaceae Bryaceae Bryaceae Leptodontaceae Calymperaceae Calymperaceae Dicranaceae Dicranaceae Dicranaceae Hypopterygiaceae Dicranaceae Dicranaceae Dicranaceae Dicranaceae Dicranaceae Meteoriaceae Ditrichaceae Hypnaceae Entodontaceae Entodontaceae Entodontaceae Entodontaceae Brachytheciaceae Brachytheciaceae Theliaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae Meteoriaceae Ditrichaceae Splachnaceae Thuidiaceae Thuidiaceae Thuidiaceae Neckeraceae Dicranaceae Hookeriaceae Hypnaceae EN CR VU VU NT VU CR EN VU CR CR CR VU CR EN VU CR VU CR VU CR NT VU CR EN CR VU VU CR CR VU CR CR EN EN EN EN VU CR CR CR CR CR EN CR EN VU VU VU CR CR EN CR CR CR CR VU EN CR VU EN VU NT VR VR R R C R VR VR R VR VR VR R VR VR R VR R VR R VR VC R VR VR VR R R VR VR R VR VR VR VR VR VR R VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR R R R VR VR VR VR VR VR VR R VR VR R VR R VC Phytogeographical pattern 4 6 7b 6 12c 12a 4 11 10 10 7b 1 8 10 1 2 13b 2 3b 12b 10 13c 10 13b 12b 12b 8 6 4 6 7b 12b 12b 7c 7b 12b 6 13c 6 7a 5 2 2 9 5 7b 7a 6 11 2 9 7b 2 3d 2 7c 12b 12b 14 5 3c 2 7b No of Sites 3 1 5 5 12 6 1 3 5 1 1 1 6 1 2 4 1 4 1 5 1 15 4 1 3 1 4 4 1 1 4 1 1 2 3 2 2 6 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 5 6 4 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 4 3 1 6 2 6 21 Altitude (m) 345-860 580 160-290 455-700 10-950 320-880 860 110-915 5-350 915 915 885-915 190-750 875 5-200 15-880 880 5 155-765 720 5-920 225-740 10-300 420 415-855 550-775 440 20 200-350 915 525 300-600 220-880 300-480 230-395 300-865 395-420 125 10 350 470-490 50 140-335 210-715 200-580 135-435 420 700 550-900 40 200 20 550 10-205 30-150 310 180-700 475-580 305-800 5-750 25 Vol.11 No.3-4, December 2012 Isopterygium minutirameum Leucobryum aduncum Leucobryum boninense Leucobryum humillimum Leucobryum javense Leucoloma walkeri Leucophanes glaucum Lopidium nazeense Luisierella barbula Macromitrium brevituberculatum Macromitrium heterodictyon Macromitrium japonicum Macromitrium nepalense Macromitrium tuberculatum Macrothamnium macrocarpum Microdus brasiliensis Micromitrium tenerum Mitthyridium fasciculatum Mitthyridium flavum Oedicladium rufescens Oedicladium serricuspe Palisadula chrysophylla Papillidiopsis complanata Papillidiopsis macrosticta Philonots hastata Philonots turneriana Phyllodon lingulatus Physcomitrium eurystomum Physcomitrium japonicum Physcomitrium sphaericum Pilotrichopsis dentata Plagiomnium vesicatum Plagiothecium cavifolium Plagiothecium euryphyllum Plagiothecium nemorale Platyhypnidium riparioides Pogonatum camusii Pogonatum neesii Pohlia camptotrachela Polytrichastrum formosum Pseudobarbella leveri Racomitrium fasciculare Rhodobryum giganteum Rhynchostegium pallidifolium Schlotheimia grevilleana Schlotheimia pungens Schwetschkeopsis fabronia Syrrhopodon chenii Syrrhopodon flammeonnervis Syrrhopodon gardneri Syrrhopodon hongkongensis Syrrhopodon spiculosus Syrrhopodon trachyphyllus Taxiphyllum arcuatum Taxithelium instratum Taxithelium oblongifolium Taxithelium parvulum Trachycystis microphylla Trachypus humilis Trichostomum hattorianum Vesicularia ferriei Vesicularia montagnei Vesicularia reticulata Weissia edentula 26 Conservation of Mosses of Hong Kong Hypnaceae Leucobryaceae Leucobryaceae Leucobryaceae Leucobryaceae Dicranaceae Leucobryaceae Hypopterygiaceae Pottiaceae Orthotrichaceae Orthotrichaceae Orthotrichaceae Orthotrichaceae Orthotrichaceae Hylocomiaceae Dicranaceae Ephemeraceae Calymperaceae Calymperaceae Myuriaceae Myuriaceae Myuriaceae Sematophyllaceae Sematophyllaceae Bartramiaceae Bartramiaceae Hypnaceae Funariaceae Funariaceae Funariaceae Cryphaeaceae Mniaceae Plagiotheciaceae Plagiotheciaceae Plagiotheciaceae Amblystegiaceae Polytrichaceae Polytrichaceae Bryaceae Polytrichaceae Meteoriaceae Grimmiaceae Bryaceae Brachytheciaceae Orthotrichaceae Orthotrichaceae Fabroniaceae Calymperaceae Calymperaceae Calymperaceae Calymperaceae Calymperaceae Calymperaceae Hypnaceae Sematophyllaceae Sematophyllaceae Sematophyllaceae Mniaceae Trachypodaceae Pottiaceae Hypnaceae Hypnaceae Hypnaceae Pottiaceae EN EN NT CR VU NT NT CR CR NT NT VU CR VU EN CR CR CR CR EN VU NT NT NT VU CR CR EN EN CR EN EN EN CR EN CR EN EN CR EN CR EN CR EN VU VU CR VU CR CR CR EN EN EN CR NT VU CR CR CR NT EN EN EN VR VR VC VR R VC C VR VR VC C R VR R VR VR VR VR VR VR R C VC VC R VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VR R R VR R VR VR VR VR VR VR VR VC R VR VR VR C VR VR VR 6 6 7b 8 10 4 3d 7b 11 13a 13b 7b 4 13a 6 11 14 2 3b 10 7b 7b 3a 8 2 6 7b 12a 7c 12b 7b 7b 12b 7b 12a 12b 4 14 12c 12c 7c 12c 3c 7b 3a 13c 11 13b 5 2 13a 3d 5 10 3b 7b 7b 7b 6 13c 7b 3b 6 3d 2 2 27 1 4 14 11 1 1 23 12 5 1 4 2 1 1 1 1 3 4 12 16 18 5 1 1 2 2 1 3 2 3 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 4 5 1 6 1 1 1 2 2 3 1 37 6 1 1 1 9 3 3 2 10-220 200-300 70-900 675 135-625 120-600 10-375 210 400 110-715 220-590 10-250 440 595-815 700-770 400 20 605 095 735-860 135-715 10-865 155-760 55-700 95-295 105 175 10-50 20-50 165 565-730 355-700 620-780 660 700-725 190 130-485 600-835 950 845-915 760 660-815 730-760 225-615 585-680 385-785 595 150-380 575-600 130-170 10-15 190-200 130-340 25-500 30-455 860-870 645 900 40-520 150-300 235-700 40-60