Woody and herbaceous plants of Inner asia: species richness and eco-geographic patterns
Plant diversity, species richness patterns, and determinants for different growth forms and range sizes on the territory of Inner Asia have been studied. Main factors determining species diversity in Inner Asia are past climate changes and parameters of precipitation. Temperature of current climate had little effect on the species richness patterns. Precipitation seasonality, mean precipitation of winter and spring, diurnal range of temperature dominated the richness patterns of woody species, while climate velocity since the Last Glacial Maximum and Mid-Holocene, precipitation seasonality and mean temperature of summer dominated the richness patterns of herbaceous species. Increasing of aridity in the studied region can influence the distribution of species with narrow range in the future.