Liverworts and Hornworts of Taiwan I. Lejeuneaceae. 2009. 137 col. photogr. 50 plates (=line drawings), plus 56 p. of English text. gr8vo. Paper bd.

Biological diversity is the keystone of human survival. Healthy biodiversity is critical for our future existence and wellbeing. Since the signing of the Convention on Biological Diversity on June, 1992, the conservation of biological diversity has become a key global issue. The island of Taiwan straddles the Tropic of Cancer, giving it a warm tropical-subtropical climate with abundant rainfall. Covering a wide range of elevations from high forest-covered mountains to grassy lowlands, Taiwan features an abundance of flora and fauna diversity. The bryophytes include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Species density of bryophytes on the island is very high in the world and is ascribed to the diversity of vegetation and topography in Taiwan. There are 42 families, 121genera, about 487 species of liverworts and hornworts recorded from Taiwan. Most of the floristic studies were made by Japanese bryologists. Ever since 1960, the Taiwanese bryologists have started to collect and study bryophytes. Several monographs on liverworts and mosses have been published, but no any complete liverworts and hornworts flora of Taiwan till now. Completing the bryoflora of Taiwan in the immediate future is one of the important works to realize the biodiversity of Taiwan.