Abstract
Species distribution models are a useful tool and are now often used in many branches of biology, especially when dealing with threatened organisms. In combination with GIS techniques, these models are especially important and valuable for predicting the occurrence of rare species, for example orchids. Orchids are an endangered plant group, protected worldwide. Questions about their conservation are therefore highly discussed, but not all factors affecting their survival and distribution are known. Here we present an example of using SDMs for analysing orchid species occurrence data from the Jeseniky Mountains in the Czech Republic. Our data were analysed using the MaxEnt program, which produces species distribution maps and thus allows the prediction of the potential occurrence of orchids at yet unknown localities. This program also determines the environmental factors affecting species distribution. This is important for the better protection of orchids, because only by knowing these factors can new localities be found or the management plans that are crucial for maintaining orchid localities be improved. We studied the most abundant orchid species in the given region. We determined the most important factors affecting their occurrence and also areas, where new sites are most likely to be discovered and depicted them in potential distribution maps. This approach can help in finding new localities of orchids and in understanding, which environmental factors influence the occurrence of endangered orchids.
Highlights
Questions concerning species diversity have become more and more important for scientists worldwide because the diversity of life on Earth is in rapid decline (Dirzo and Raven 2003; Possingham and Wilson 2005)
The analysis revealed that solar radiation is the most important factor associated with the distribution of Platanthera bifolia
FFiigg. .1 13 3M a p showing the potential distribution of Platanthera bifolia in the Jeseníky Mountains
Summary
Questions concerning species diversity have become more and more important for scientists worldwide because the diversity of life on Earth is in rapid decline (Dirzo and Raven 2003; Possingham and Wilson 2005). The orchid family is one of the largest and most diverse in taxa in the flowering plant kingdom, with estimates of 880 genera and about 20,000 to 35,000 species (Dressler 1993; Chase et al 2003; Cribb et al 2003; Tsiftsis et al 2011). Many characteristics, such as great species richness, their specific role in ecosystems or endangered situations make it crucial to explore the distribution and conservation status of Orchidaceae (Zhang et al 2015). Predictive modelling of the geographic distributions of species based on the environmental conditions at sites of known occurrence is an important technique in analytical biology, with applications in conservation and reserve planning, ecology, evolution, epidemiology, invasive-species management and other fields
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