Study areas
Lebu Valley (27°49′-28°00′N, 91°41′-91°52′E; Figure 1) is located in the
Eastern Himalayas (one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots all over the
world. Mittermeier, Turner, Larsen, Brooks, & Gascon, 2011), China.
ranging from 2,300 m above sea level (a.s.l.) to 5,000 m a.s.l. The
planimetric distance from the bottom of the valley to the summit of Mt.
Xiala is about 46 km. There are five vegetation types along the
elevational gradient in Lebu: broadleaved deciduous forest (2,300-2,900
m a.s.l.), coniferous and broad-leaf mixed forest (2,900-3,400 m
a.s.l.), dark coniferous forest (3,400-3,800 m a.s.l.), alpine shrub and
meadows (3,800-4,400 m a.s.l.), and alpine meadow (4,400-5,000 m a.s.l.)
(Wang et al., 2020).