A new model: Herbaceous species diversity along the environmental gradient in the typical hilly areas of Henan Province

Ecological model is important. The relationship between biodiversity and disturbance gradient, however, makes it difficult to compare data from different studies and draw general conclusions. These results assessed the relationship between disturbance gradients and herbaceous species diversity in the typical hilly areas on varying spatial scales along the environmental gradient in Henan Province. Using community ecology techniques and quantitative measurements of disturbance, we detected a linear relationship between weighting values of disturbance intensity and herbaceous species diversity (Simpson), which were significantly correlated (P<0.01) in the differential ecosystem types along different disturbance gradient. Understanding a linear relationship between herbaceous species dynamics and their causes in the differential type’s landscapes is essential for further research of local ecosystem functions reaching the goal of ecosystem sustainable development in the context of biodiversity conservation. These results indicate that weighting values of disturbance are the most important environmental factors affecting the herbaceous species diversity in building a model of the ecosystem. This model may help policy makers formulate better ecological conservation and restoration plans with ecosystem.   Key words: Model, herbaceous species diversity, disturbance gradient, significantly, the typical hilly areas.