Abstract
Paeonia ostii is a traditional ornamental and medicinal species that has attracted considerable interest for its high oil value. To facilitate the effective and rational cultivation and application of P. ostii in China, it is necessary to determine its potential spatial habitat distribution and environmental requirements. Using high-resolution environmental data for current and future climate scenarios, the potential suitable area and climatic requirements of P. ostii were modelled. Among the 11 environmental variables investigated, growing degree days, precipitation of the wettest month, mean temperature of the coldest quarter, global UV-B radiation, annual precipitation, and soil pH played major roles in determining the suitability of a habitat for the cultivation of P. ostii. Under the current environmental conditions in China, a total area of 20.31 × 105 km2 is suitable for growing P. ostii, accounting for 21.16% of the country’s total land area. Under the two future climate scenario/year combinations (i.e., representative concentration pathways [RCPs], RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 in 2050), this species would increase its suitable area at high latitudes while decrease at low latitudes. These results present valuable information and a theoretical reference point for identifying the suitable cultivation areas of P. ostii.
Highlights
IntroductionA species of tree peony (Sect. Moutan, Paeonia, Paeoniaceae; 2n = 10)[1,2], has been traditionally cultivated for medicinal purposes throughout Asia for more than 1,600 years because of its antispasmodic value[3,4]
Paeonia ostii, a species of tree peony
This study aims to: (1) identify the main environmental variables that constrain the distribution of P. ostii, (2) map P. ostii’s climatically suitable areas and estimate its climatic thresholds, (3) determine different areas degrees of suitability for cultivating P. ostii nationally, and, (4) predict the spatial patterns of changes in the suitable cultivation areas of P. ostii under two future climate change scenario/year combinations: RCP2.6-2050 and RCP8.5-2050
Summary
A species of tree peony (Sect. Moutan, Paeonia, Paeoniaceae; 2n = 10)[1,2], has been traditionally cultivated for medicinal purposes throughout Asia for more than 1,600 years because of its antispasmodic value[3,4]. MaxEnt uses presence-only data and the associated environmental variables to project the potential habitat distribution of a target species based on the principles of the maximum entropy algorithm[22,23] This process has been widely applied to estimate the ecological requirements of medicinal plants (e.g., H. riparia, Lour)[24], major forest tree species (e.g., Platycladus orientalis and Davidia involucrata)[25,26], invasive plants (e.g. Mimosa diplotricha and Mikania micrantha)[27] and endangered relic species (Schisandra sphenanthera and Ammopiptanthus mongolicus)[28,29], and to characterize and map their suitable growing areas at a landscape scale. This work provides valuable information on the distribution of P. ostii and reference data to assist land managers in the development of effective plans for large-scale increases in cultivation across China
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