Abstract: Milu (Elaphurus davidianus), a species of deer that inhabits wetland habitats, mainly feed on herbs. The Shishou Milu National Nature Reserve is one of the protected areas for milu and other rare animals and plants. Understanding plant species composition, flora characteristics, and species diversity of the herbaceous community in this reserve is of great significance for the conservation of milu and wetland ecosystems. Here, the herbaceous community in the reserve was investigated by selecting five plots (size of 1 hm²) along the water gradient baseline. A total of 321 species of herbaceous vascular plants were recorded in the plots, belonging to 216 genera and 72 families. The flora was composed of small families and genera. There were various types of distribution, with seven types and two variants at the level of the families and world distribution type being dominant. There were 13 types at the genus level, with the flora dominated by pantropic distribution type and followed by the temperate distribution type. The species richness and community composition of herbaceous plants in the reserve showed significant seasonal dynamics. The richness of herbaceous species in spring and autumn was 169 and 125 species, respectively. Furthermore, the changes of α diversity of herbaceous plant communities was consistent with that of the richness index in spring and autumn, showing a declined trend in spring due to the decreases of water gradient but a rise trend in fall.

Key words: Municipal sludge, Phthalic acid esters (PAEs), Rice straw, Composting