An ethnobotanical investigation and study in the Lemo people's society was carried out in the eastern slope of the Gaoligong Mountains in western Yunnan, China. The research results indicate that the Lemo people rely on the wild plant resources and biological environment to survive and prosper. The Lemo people have a tradition of practicing swidden cultivation in which they plant lacquer and alder trees ( Toxico-dendron vernicifiuum and Ainus nepalensis) for swidden fallow management. The Lemo's lacquer tree planta-tions are an indicator of shifting cultivation among all ethnic groups in Yunnan and even in the world. In ad-dition they collect and use over 60 species of wild edible plants and over 100 species of medicinal plants. Important medicinal herbs such as Coptis teeta and Fritillaria cirrhosa are also used for bartering with the people outside of their society. The Lemo people s worship of natural environment plays a positive role in the conservation of biodiversity in the region.

The traditional agro - ecosystem and indigenous botanical knowledge of the Dulong ethnic group in the Dulong Jiang (Dulong River) watershed of northern Gaoligong Mountains in western Yunnan, China are extensively investigated and studied through the approaches of human ecology and ethnobotany. Living in a very isolated environment, the Dulong people have established very close relationships with plants and the plant environment. The agro - ecosystem in the Dulong Jiang watershed is a typical montane swidden agro -ecosystem in which there are various traditional cultivars and local landraces of crops with potential value out-side of their area.

There new species of Leistus Frolich, all from southern parts of the Gaoligong Mountains of west-ern Yunnan Province, China, are diagnosed, described and illustrated: Lsistus taruwgnathus n. sp. (type locality = Nankang Yakou, 24°49.9'N 98°46.0' E, 2130m); Leistus gaoligongensis n. sp. (type locality = Nankang Yakou, 24°49.9'N 98°46.0'E, 2130m); and Leistus lihengae n. sp. (type locality = Lu-oshuidong, 24°56.9'N 98°45.4'E, 2300 m). A preliminary key to the Leistus species known to occur in Yunnan Province is provided.

The present paper introduces the process of the Burma - Malaya Geoblock movement northward and the historical environmental changes in the Gaoligong Mountains. The biological effect of the Burma -Malaya Geoblock movement on the fish fauna in the region has been studied based on current data of fish oc-curred in the drainage system of the Salween River and Irrawaddy River within the region: 1. The two drainage systems have fish fauna from both the Palaearctic region and Oriental regions. 2. The line demark-ing the transition between Asiatic fish fauna to the south and the Tibetan Plateau fish fauna to the north is at approximately 26°N latitude with neither fish from the north passing the line to the south nor those from the south to the north. 3. The Gaoligong Mountains is a center of species differentiation for many fish taxa. The endemism of fish in the region reaches as high as 53 of the total fish fauna. 4. The origin of fish fauna in the Gaoligong Mountains may be from the tropics and may be from the temperate area of Palaearctic region. The authors believe that the family Sisoridae has a tropical origin but its individual genera and species have different origins. Most genera in the Sisoridae originated from the tropics while Glyproarwenum and its related genera probably originated from Tibet.

In this paper microbial quantity, diversity, and generic distribution in soils of different land uses in the Gaoligong Mountains are determined. The relationship between their distribution in soils of different land uses with human disturbance and environmental elements is also analyzed. The results indicate that the soil microbial quantity and fungal diversity decreases from original forests, secondary forests to young Cun-ninghamia lanceolata plantations. Cultivation is usually favorable to soil microbial growth and reproduction. Both soil microbial quantity and fungal diversity are higher in mature artificial plantations and upland fields; soil microbial quantity and fungal diversity are the highest in original forests and the lowest in degraded lands among all land use types.

A new pimoid spider, Pimoa lihengae, is described from the montane forests in the Gaoligong Mountains of western Yunnan Province, China. The struc-ture of male and female genitalia suggests that this species is closely related to Pi-moa from the Himalayas of India and Nepal.

The Orchidaceae, with 265 taxa (species and infraspecies) in 75 genera, is the largest family of seed plants in the Gaoligong Mountains. Forty - five of the orchid genera (60) are primarily tropical while 29 (39) are primarily temperate. Forty- three of the genera (57) are terrestrial, 31 (41) are epi-phytic, and 3 (4) are saprophyuc.

This paper reports the composition and ecological distribution of soil fungi in the Gaoligong Moun-tains State Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province. Twenty-eight genera belonging to 3 classes, 6 orders, and 11 families are founded in the region. The predominant families are Moniliaceae (11 genera, 37.9 of the total genera) and Dematiaceae (5 genera, 17.2). All the specimens are deposited in Microorganism E-cology Laboratory of at the Xishuangbarma Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kun-ming. The number of genera of the soil fungi is the highest in original forests at elevation of about 2000 m above sea level, lower in original forests at high elevation, and the lowest in the secondary forests at low ele-vation. The pattern of fungal quantity is similar to that of generic number.

3 new taxa, Arisaema bogneri P. Boyce et H. li, A. tengtsunense H. li var. pentaphyllum H. Li and A. burmaense P. Boyce et H. Li are described and illustrated. The new distribution of A. dahaiense in Gaoligong Mountains is reported and its infructescence is described additionally.

Sauromatum gaoligongense, a new aroid species from Gaoligong Mountains( Yunnan, China) is de-scribed and illustated. It differs from other two species of Saoromatwn in having a petiole with 3 ~ 5 bulbils in the lower part.

There are 41 species of Pedicularis distributed in Gaoligong Mountains located between the Nu-jiang (Salween) and the Dulongjiang - Nmeikai (Irrawaddi) rivers in NW Yunnan, China. The number of species in Gaoligong Mountains constitutes 27.3 of the total numbers in Yunnan. According to Li's sys-tem, all forms of corolla- types are founded in the mountain range, i. e. 7 species of edentate, 3 of den-tate, 28 of short - tubed, and 3 of long - tubed. In Tsoong's system, Pedicularis are divided into 13 grexes, all of them are distributed in Yunnan. In Gaoligong Mountains, 9 grexes or 69.2 of the total are repre-sented there. Of the 112 series of Pedicularis in Tsoong's system occur 72 in Yunnan and 36 in Gaoligong Mountains. It is obvious that Gaoligong Mountains are at least part of the center of modem distribution and center of diversification of the genus by the fact that almost all major stages of evolution can be found in this area. It is noticed that Gaoligong Mountains are particularly rich in intermediate forms, i. e. the short -tubed species. Most of the Pedicularis species in Gaoligong Mountains are endemic to China. Five species are endemic to Gaoligong Mountains.

Gaoligong Mountains is an area that spans the border of Yunnan Province in China and Myanmar. The area is of great botanical interest due to its high botanical diversity, largely undisturbed vegetation, and limited of botanical exploration. The main genera of Araceae in the area are Arisaema, Remusatia, Rhaphi-doprwra, and Typhomum. By far the most common genus is Arisaema with a large diversity of species throughout the area. In the last 10 years a series of major expeditions have explored the area, discovering several new species as well as finding species that were not previously known from the area. From the Gaoligong Mountains area 58 species from 11 genera are listed and discussed, including distribution details. Of these, 10 endemic aroid species, including 3 unpublished species are described. Their distribution are listed and discussed. The geography of Araceae suggests that the Gaoligong Mountains flora is a part of the East Asian flora and that the flora of Eastern Himalayas originated from that of northeastern Myanmar and Gaoligong Mountains.

The Gaoligong Mountains are rich in endemic species of Ericaceae. Ninety three (49 ) of 187 species and varieties of Ericaceae that occur in these mountains are endemic species. Of this total, 50 are endemic to the Gaoligong Mountains only 5 are endemic to Yunnan Province, 38 are endemic to China. In this paper, we discuss the endemic plants of Ericaceae in relation to their endemism and distribution within the Gaoligong Mountains.

Yunnan Province is a rich area for its Ericaceae species where 375 species (including 11 sub-species and 85 varieties) occur. In the Gaoligong Mountains there are 9 genera and 187 species (including 2 subspecies and 27 varieties) of Ericaceae which is about 90 of the total genera and 49 of total species of Ericaceae in Yunnan Province. Very diverse species of Ericaceae occur in the Gaoligong Mountains which reflect that the Gaoligong Mountains are a center of distribution of Ericaceae. Many species of Ericaceae are potential economically. There are 71 species with high value as garden ornamentals. The Gaoligong Moun-tains are also an area of high endemism in Ericaceae, and the type locality of many taxa. There are 70 taxa that the type locality is within this region. In this paper, we discuss the value of Ericaceae plants aa orna-mentals, environmental protection, medicine, food, and scientific significance as well as the relationship be-tween their conservation and sustainable use.

Based on the analyses of genera, species, and geological data, a study on the phytogeography of Araliaceae in the Gaoligong Mountains was carried out. The results are as follows: l)The Araliaceae flora in the region consist of 15 genera, 56 species, and 13 varieties. 2) At the level of genera most of Araliaceae in the Gaoligong Mountains originated from the tropics. The tropical genera of Araliaceae in the Gaoligong Mountains region are 66.7 (10 genera) while the temperate genera are only 33.3 (5 genera). The Arali-aceae flora of the Gaoligong Mountains is less affinities to that of the Mediterranean and Central Asia. 3) At the specific level the Araliaceae of the Gaoligong Mountains region is dominated by temperate species (88.4 of the total species).