East Africa is one of the centres of distribution and diversity for Lobelia L. (Campanulaceae, sub-family Lobelioideae). Lobelia habitats in East Africa have been facing habitat fragmentation and loss, which are recognised as a major threat to biodiversity. However, previous plant conservation studies in East Africa only focused on protected areas and ignored unprotected areas. Future conservation strategies of plants, such as Lobelia, will depend on knowledge of their distribution patterns and habitat preference in East Africa. To understand the distribution pattern and the habitat preference of Lobelia in five countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) of East Africa, we conducted a literature review in the seven major vegetation regions (afro-alpine, afro-montane forest, drier savannah, grasslands, wetter savannah, Zambezian woodland and semi-desert and desert). We also employed meander and patterned searches, which allowed greater opportunities for recording Lobelia species. Our results showed that the genus is distributed in all of the seven regions of the five countries with 54 taxa. The afro-montane forest region, with 41 taxa, is the richest in species diversity, followed by the Zambezian woodland region with 18 taxa. The semi-desert and desert region has the lowest number with only four taxa. The afro-alpine region has 15 taxa, although the region is the smallest by area. The herbaceous type was found in all regions, while the giant type has a clear preference for the afro-alpine and afro-montane forest regions. Future conservation for Lobelia should consider its habitat preference by, for example, focusing on the afro-alpine and afro-montane forest regions. This study will facilitate the setting of future conservation strategies for Lobelia.

中文翻译：

---

东非五个国家的山梗菜（桔梗科）分布模式和生境偏好

东非是山梗菜（Cambelulaceae，Lobelioideae的亚科）的分布和多样性中心之一。东非的山梗菜生境一直面临生境破碎化和丧失，这被认为是对生物多样性的主要威胁。但是，以前在东非进行的植物保护研究仅关注保护区，而忽略了未保护区。诸如山梗菜等植物的未来保护策略将取决于对它们在东非的分布方式和栖息地偏好的了解。为了了解东非五个国家（肯尼亚，乌干达，坦桑尼亚，卢旺达和布隆迪）的山梗菜的分布模式和生境偏好，我们在七个主要植被地区（非洲高山，非洲山地森林，干燥大草原，草原，湿大草原，Zambezian林地和半沙漠和沙漠）。我们还使用曲折和模式搜索，这为记录山梗菜物种提供了更多的机会。我们的结果表明，该属分布在五个国家的七个地区的所有地区，共有54个分类单元。拥有41个分类单元的非洲山地森林地区是物种多样性最丰富的地区，其次是拥有18个分类单元的Zambezian林地地区。半荒漠和沙漠地区的数量最少，只有四个分类单元。非洲高山地区有15个分类单元，尽管该地区面积最小。在所有地区都发现了草本型，而巨型型显然对非洲高山和非洲山地森林地区更为偏爱。对半边莲的未来保护应通过以下方式考虑其对栖息地的偏好：重点关注非洲高山和非洲山地森林地区。这项研究将有助于制定未来的山梗菜保护策略。