The Community Characteristics of Caltha palustris in Piankou of Beichuan County

To rationally protect and utilize the suspected new species Caltha palustris in Piankou nature reserve,investigation and analysis were made of the distribution and community characteristics of Caltha palustris by using the sampling method. The results showed that the community was mainly distributed in valley streams or wet meadows with the altitude of 2 000 m~2 300 m. The request of Caltha palustris was not high for the soil fertility, but was higher for the humidity. The plant species of the Caltha palustris community belonged to 11 genera and 9 families, which were dominated by Ranunculaceae and Urticaceae. The Caltha palustris was a dominant species in the community, and its importance value was 115, far larger than that of Cardamine macrophylla, whose importance value was 47 and was the second largest one in the community.