Abstract:

Comparing with other regions, Asia is mostly dominated by the monsoon climate and tropical plants can be found at the furthest places away from the equator. Understanding the role of monsoon in the dispersal and evolution of tropical plants is helpful for exploring the distribution patterns of vegetation and mechanisms underlying the origin and maintenance of biodiversity in Asia. In summer, there are three types of monsoon in Asia, i.e. East Asia Monsoon, South Asia Monsoon, North-west Pacific Ocean Monsoon. The summer monsoon climate in Asia originated at about 40 Ma, when the early angiosperm evolved and started its diversification in Southeast Asia and South China. It suggested that the monsoon may facilitate the quick speciation and spread of early angiosperm. Monsoon climate facilitates the northward spread of Asia’s tropical plants and some tropical plants can be found even at Yarlung Zangbo River and the boundaries of Guizhou-Guangxi-Yunnan. Such effetcs largely change distribution patterns of zonal vegetation and even causes local vegetation types in some places with unusual topography such as tropical seasonal rainforests, monsoon rainforests, savanna and grassland along dry-hot valley in Southwest China, coastal savanna in West Hainan Island. The three summer monsoons interact at Southwest China and Indo-China Peninsula and these regions are dominated by limestone landscapes and high mountains with big rivers. Some Asia-endemic tropical taxa even formed a diversification and endemism center at this region, which may be a reason for the formation and maintenance of Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots with global warming, the monsoon may further promote the northward spread of tropical plants and may have fundamental effects on biodiversity and flora evolution in South China.

Key words: tropical monsoon rainforest, tropical seasonal rainforest, dispersal, speciation, karst