Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models

The tree rhododendrons include the most widely distributed Himalayan Rhododendron species belonging to the subsection Arborea. Distributions of two members of this sub-species were modelled using bioclimatic data for current conditions (1950–2000). A subset of the least correlated bioclimatic variab...

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Main Authors: Ranjitkar S, Kindt, Roeland, Sujakhu NM, Hart R, Guo W, Yang X, Shrestha, Krishna K., Xu, Jianchu, Luedeling, Eike
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68202
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author Ranjitkar S
Kindt, Roeland
Sujakhu NM
Hart R
Guo W
Yang X
Shrestha, Krishna K.
Xu, Jianchu
Luedeling, Eike
author_browse Guo W
Hart R
Kindt, Roeland
Luedeling, Eike
Ranjitkar S
Shrestha, Krishna K.
Sujakhu NM
Xu, Jianchu
Yang X
author_facet Ranjitkar S
Kindt, Roeland
Sujakhu NM
Hart R
Guo W
Yang X
Shrestha, Krishna K.
Xu, Jianchu
Luedeling, Eike
author_sort Ranjitkar S
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The tree rhododendrons include the most widely distributed Himalayan Rhododendron species belonging to the subsection Arborea. Distributions of two members of this sub-species were modelled using bioclimatic data for current conditions (1950–2000). A subset of the least correlated bioclimatic variables was used for ecological niche modelling (ENM). We used an ENM ensemble method in the BiodiversityR R-package to map the suitable climatic space for tree rhododendrons based on 217 point location records. Ensemble bioclimatic models for tree rhododendrons had high predictive power with bioclimatic variables, which also separated the climatic spaces for the two species. Tree rhododendrons were found occurring in a wide range of climate and the distributional limits were associated with isothermality, temperature ranges, temperature of the wettest quarter, and precipitation of the warmest quarter of the year. The most suitable climatic space for tree rhododendrons was predicted to be in western Yunnan, China, with suitability declining towards the west and east. Its occurrence in a wide range of climatic settings with highly dissected habitats speaks to the adaptive capacity of the species, which might open up future options for their conservation planning in regions where they are listed as threatened.
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spelling CGSpace682022025-02-19T13:42:56Z Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models Ranjitkar S Kindt, Roeland Sujakhu NM Hart R Guo W Yang X Shrestha, Krishna K. Xu, Jianchu Luedeling, Eike climate change agriculture food security economic distribution biodiversity The tree rhododendrons include the most widely distributed Himalayan Rhododendron species belonging to the subsection Arborea. Distributions of two members of this sub-species were modelled using bioclimatic data for current conditions (1950–2000). A subset of the least correlated bioclimatic variables was used for ecological niche modelling (ENM). We used an ENM ensemble method in the BiodiversityR R-package to map the suitable climatic space for tree rhododendrons based on 217 point location records. Ensemble bioclimatic models for tree rhododendrons had high predictive power with bioclimatic variables, which also separated the climatic spaces for the two species. Tree rhododendrons were found occurring in a wide range of climate and the distributional limits were associated with isothermality, temperature ranges, temperature of the wettest quarter, and precipitation of the warmest quarter of the year. The most suitable climatic space for tree rhododendrons was predicted to be in western Yunnan, China, with suitability declining towards the west and east. Its occurrence in a wide range of climatic settings with highly dissected habitats speaks to the adaptive capacity of the species, which might open up future options for their conservation planning in regions where they are listed as threatened. 2014-08 2015-09-16T17:00:41Z 2015-09-16T17:00:41Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68202 en Open Access Elsevier Ranjitkar S, Kindt R, Sujakhu NM, Hart R, Guo W, Yang X, Shrestha KK, Xu J, Luedeling E. 2014. Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models. Global Ecology and Conservation 1:2-12.
spellingShingle climate change
agriculture
food security
economic distribution
biodiversity
Ranjitkar S
Kindt, Roeland
Sujakhu NM
Hart R
Guo W
Yang X
Shrestha, Krishna K.
Xu, Jianchu
Luedeling, Eike
Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models
title Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models
title_full Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models
title_fullStr Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models
title_full_unstemmed Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models
title_short Separation of the bioclimatic spaces of Himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models
title_sort separation of the bioclimatic spaces of himalayan tree rhododendron species predicted by ensemble suitability models
topic climate change
agriculture
food security
economic distribution
biodiversity
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68202
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