Abstract
The growing demand and dependencies of people for herbal care is time need. Among the list of various used herbal plants, Rauwolfia serpentina (Apocynaceae) is an important and due to relief of various central nervous system disorders. The root of this plant has been used in the treatment of hypertension or as a sedative and tranquillizing agent. This plant is variously used in Ayurveda, Unani system of medicine and Homeopathy for various disease ailments. Predicting potential geographic distribution of the species is important from species occurrence and habitat restoration point of view. This paper hearsay the results of a study carried out in the Dehradun valley in India (Dehradun surrounding forest area) on potential distribution modeling for Rauwolfia serpentina using Maxent model. The Worldclim bioclimatic variables, slope, aspect, elevation, and the FSI forest type data and 100 spatially well-dispersed species occurrence points were used to predict the potential distribution of Rauwolfia serpentina in ca. nearly 1277 km 2 of Doon valley study area. Jackknife test was used to evaluate the importance of the environmental variables for predictive modeling. Maxent model was highly accurate with a statistically significant AUC value of 88.5. The approach could be promising in knowing the eventing the potential distribution of medicinal plant species and thus, can be an effective tool in species restoration and conservation planning.
Highlights
The habitat restoration of species is one of the successful ecological engineering measures for the species rehabilitation and habitat conservation (Polak and Saltz, 2011)
Models predicting the potential geographic distribution of species are important for a variety of applications in conservation biology with a number of statistical models to simulate the spatial distribution of plant species invasive species, species diversity and impact of climate change
The dataset used for the present study are the Forest Survey of India (FSI) forest type map based on Champion and Seth classification
Summary
The habitat restoration of species is one of the successful ecological engineering measures for the species rehabilitation and habitat conservation (Polak and Saltz, 2011). Maximum entropy (Maxent) model is a species distribution model (SDM) originating from the statistical mechanics (Phillips et al, 2004; Jaynes, 1957). This environmental model for predicting the potential distribution of species has several advantages; it requires only species presence (or occurrence) data and environmental information (Elith et al, 2011). It grows well in frost -free tropical to sub-tropical situations under irrigation. Extend and availability of this important medicinal plants becomes necessary and the present study is designed for predicting the potential habitat distribution of Rauwolfia serpentina in Dehradun valley of Uttarakhand using Maxent modeling
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Advanced Remote Sensing and GIS
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
