Abstract
BackgroundThe climate is the dominant factor that affects the distribution of plants. Cuscuta chinensis is a stem holoparasitic plant without leaves or roots, which develops a haustorium and sucks nutrients from host plants. The potential distribution of the parasitic plant C. chinensis has not been predicted to date. This study used Maxent modeling to predict the potential global distribution of C. chinensis, based on the following six main bioclimatic variables: annual mean temperature, isothermality, temperature seasonality, precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the warmest quarter, and precipitation of the coldest quarter.ResultsThe optimal annual average temperature and isothermality of C. chinensis ranged from 4 to 37 °C and less than 45, respectively, while the optimal temperature seasonality and precipitation seasonality ranged from 4000 to 25,000 and from 50 to 130, respectively. The optimal precipitation of the warmest season ranged from 300 to 1000 mm and from 2500 to 3500 mm, while that of the coldest season was less than 2000 mm. In Asia, C. chinensis is mainly distributed at latitudes ranging from 20° N to 50° N. During three specific historical periods (last glacial maximum, mid-Holocene, and 1960–1990) the habitats suitable for C. chinensis were concentrated in the central, northern, southern, and eastern parts of China. From the last glacial maximum to the mid-Holocene, the total area with suitability of 0.5–1 increased by 0.0875 million km2; however, from the mid-Holocene to 1960–1990, the total area with suitability of 0.5–1 decreased by 0.0759 million km2. The simulation results of habitat suitability in the two representative concentration pathways (RCP) 2.6 (i.e., the low greenhouse gas emissions pathway) and 8.5 (i.e., the high greenhouse gas emissions pathway) indicate that the habitat suitability of C. chinensis decreased in response to the warming climate. Compared with RCP2.6, areas with averaged suitability and high suitability for survival (RCP8.5) decreased by 0.18 million km2.ConclusionSuitable habitats of C. chinensis are situated in central, northern, southern, and eastern China. The habitat suitability of C. chinensis decreased in response to the warming climate. These results provide a reference for the management and control of C. chinensis.
Highlights
The climate is the dominant factor that affects the distribution of plants
Using maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling, this study found that the suitability area of the host G. max in RCP8.5 was less than in RCP2.6 (Ren et al, unpublished data), indicating that global warming negatively affects the suitable area of the host and reduced the suitable area of parasites by limiting plant growth
The existence and potentially suitable habitat of C. chinensis were assessed and predicted by using the best Maxent modeling evaluated by both the area under curve (AUC) index and true skill statistic (TSS) index
Summary
The climate is the dominant factor that affects the distribution of plants. Cuscuta chinensis is a stem holoparasitic plant without leaves or roots, which develops a haustorium and sucks nutrients from host plants. The potential distribution of the parasitic plant C. chinensis has not been predicted to date. The climate is the dominant factor to affect plant distribution [1,2,3,4]. Under the context of global climate change, increasing attention has been focused on the prediction of the distribution of plants to better apprehend future trends [4]. Predicting the potential global distribution of such parasitic plants informs management procedures that enable a reduction of the harm parasitic species impose on agriculture, it is useful for the development of medical applications. The distribution of C. chinensis has not been predicted
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