Objectives Ferula sinkiangensis is a rare and endangered plant species endemic to the Yili region, with a very small population in the wild. At present, the basic quantitative characteristics of Ferula sinkiangensis population remain unknown.

Methods Based on the data of 125 m×5 m sample plots, this study predicted the population dynamics of Ferula sinkiangensis by one-time moving average method, analyzed the population density, crown diameter and other quantitative characteristics of Ferula sinkiangensis nature reserve in different slope directions and positions by one-way analysis of variance and two-way analysis of variance, and analyzed its spatial distribution pattern by point pattern method.

Results Ferula sinkiangensis was distributed across all diameter classes witin the nature reserve, with the greatest number of individuals observed in the 0-10.0 cm diameter class. There were significant spatial differences in population density and crown diameter between different slope directions and slope positions. The population density was the highest in the east slope (7.64 ±7.62) plants/m² and the downhill position (4.67±5.25) plants/m², and the crown diameter was the highest in the north slope(42.4 ±20.0) plants/m² and the downhill position (24.2±19) plants/m². With regard to the spatial distribution pattern, Ferula sinkiangensis exhibited the characteristics of small-scale aggregation (< 6－37 cm) and large-scale random distribution in most plots on the eastern and southern slopes, while the western and northern slopes were mainly randomly distributed, even if there was aggregation, the degree of aggregation was small. The results of variance analysis showed that the slope direction had the greatest influence on the population density, crown diameter and population aggregation scale of Ferula sinkiangensis, while the slope position had the smallest influence, and the interaction effect between them was in the middle.

Conclusions The growth and the spatial distribution of Ferula sinkiangensis population were significantly affected by slope direction and slope position, which was more beneficial to plant growth under the conditions of northern slope and downslope position, and can be used as a reference for in-situ artificial protection of Ferula sinkiangensis.