Current Habitat Research Articles

Projecting the proliferation risk of Oncomelania hupensis in China driven by SSPs: A multi-scenario comparison and integrated modeling study

Climate change has been known to cause variations in the geographically suitable areas for the schistosome-transmitting Oncomelania hupensis (O. hupensis). The spread of snails not only depends on the degree of warming but also on the socioeconomic development of the next few decades. Shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) published by CMIP6 consider carbon emission pathways as well as influences of distinct types of social development and land use on the regional climate, providing the possibility to accurately evaluate the impact of socioeconomic development and climate variation on the spread of O. hupensis. This study employed SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585 and the correlative approach to explore the impacts of climate change and socioeconomic development on the potential diffusion areas for O. hupensis in China. The results exhibited strong evidence that O. hupensis will spread in the north of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and disappear from a small part of its current southern habitat, whereas in Sichuan and Yunnan, O. hupensis may spread slightly to the southeast. The projection also demonstrated that fossil fuel-driven development (SSP585) will be more conducive to the spread of O. hupensis breeding sites in the 2030s, whereas the continuous increase in snail breeding habitats under the regional rivalry path (SSP370) may lead to great challenges in snail control in the long term (2020–2080).

Climate change threatens native potential agroforestry plant species in Brazil

Climate change is one of the main drivers of species extinction in the twentyfirst-century. Here, we (1) quantify potential changes in species' bioclimatic area of habitat (BAH) of 135 native potential agroforestry species from the Brazilian flora, using two different climate change scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) and dispersal scenarios, where species have no ability to disperse and reach new areas (non-dispersal) and where species can migrate within the estimated BAH (full dispersal) for 2041–2060 and 2061–2080. We then (2) assess the preliminary conservation status of each species based on IUCN criteria. Current and future potential habitats for species were predicted using MaxEnt, a machine-learning algorithm used to estimate species' probability distribution. Future climate is predicted to trigger a mean decline in BAH between 38.5–56.3% under the non-dispersal scenario and between 22.3–41.9% under the full dispersal scenario for 135 native potential agroforestry species. Additionally, we found that only 4.3% of the studied species could be threatened under the IUCN Red List criteria B1 and B2. However, when considering the predicted quantitative habitat loss due to climate change (A3c criterion) the percentages increased between 68.8–84.4% under the non-dispersal scenario and between 40.7–64.4% under the full dispersal scenario. To lessen such threats, we argue that encouraging the use of these species in rural and peri-urban agroecosystems are promising, complementary strategies for their long-term conservation.

Creating past habitat maps to quantify local extirpation of Australian threatened birds

Habitat loss is driving the extirpation of fauna across Earth. Many species are now absent from vast areas where they once occurred in inhabited continents, yet we do not have a good understanding of the extent to which different species have been locally extirpated, nor the degree to which range contractions and habitat loss has contributed to this local extirpation. Here, for the first time, we use a combination of scientific literature, historical sources, spatial data, and expert elicitation to map the past extent of potential habitats, and changes thereto, of 72 of Australia’s most imperiled terrestrial birds. By comparing the area of potential habitat within the past and current ranges of these taxa, we quantify the extent over which each of Australia’s threatened terrestrial birds have likely been extirpated and assess the amount and configuration of potential habitat that remains. Our results show that since 1750 (before European colonization), at least one extant taxon of threatened bird has disappeared from over 530 million hectares (69%) of Australia, through both range contractions and loss of potentially suitable habitat (noting these are not mutually exclusive phenomena). Ten taxa (14%) have likely been extirpated from >99% of their past potential habitat. For 56 taxa (78%), remaining habitat within their current potential habitats has become fragmented. This research paints a sobering picture of the extent of local extirpation of threatened birds from much of Australia over a 250 years time period. By mapping and quantifying this loss, these findings will help refine scientific understanding about the impact of habitat removal and other pervasive threats that are driving this observed extirpation.

Where will species on the move go? Insights from climate connectivity modelling across European terrestrial habitats

Climate change can induce species range shifts. However, the intensity of climate change, the intrinsic dispersal ability of species and the anthropization of landscapes are impeding species movements in most cases. In this context, preserving and promoting climate corridors for species to migrate from their current habitats to their future climatically similar habitats is an important strategy for preventing species extinction. Climate connectivity modelling is a tool that can identify these potential movement pathways. Here, we aimed to model connectivity between climate analogues across Europe under various ecological assumptions and climate change scenarios, in order to identify areas of high potential connectivity and to quantify variation in connectivity across a range of hypotheses. We also overlapped connectivity maps with protected areas to determine whether climate connectivity was sufficiently protected. We showed that climatic connectivity did not differ much between different scenarios of climate change, but was strongly dependent on species’ dispersal assumptions. It was also relatively similar to a scenario of non-climatic connectivity. Therefore, it may be feasible to anticipate the effect of climate change on species movements regardless of the future trajectory of climate, but the implementation of protection strategies for multiple species will certainly prove complex. Overall, protected areas were located in the regions of high and stable connectivity, but some countries lack the appropriate protection schemes, especially regarding strong protections. Our results have the potential to serve in the construction of land cover change scenarios to identify the best strategies to improve climate connectivity.

Predicting current and future habitat refuges for conservation of wild goat (Capra aegagrus Erxleben 1777) under climate change in Iraq

The Wild goat (Capra aegagrus) has had less attention and study than many other mammals, especially in Iraq. We collected comprehensive data about this species in Iraq, a total of 36 records, in order to build species distribution models using Maximum Entropy and seven environmental variables. The results confirm that suitable habitat is limited to the northeastern part of Iraq, especially the Zagros mountains of Kurdistan region/Iraq. Elevation most influenced the predicted distribution. Habitat suitability under different future climate scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 for 2050 and 2070) is stable but expands compared with the current period. Areas of marginally and highly suitable decrease, while suitable habitat increases compared to the present. Habitat suitability inside existing Protected Areas was significantly higher than outside. Applying IUCN Red List criteria at the national scale, the species was classified as Endangered. The main short-term threat is, against which urgent action is needed to avoid future declines. We conclude that climate change is not likely to be a long-term threat to the Wild goat in Iraq, but urgent action to stop poaching is needed to sustain many Iraqi mammals, especially the Wild goat. Our applied approach can help understand and conserve other critical species in Iraq.

Potential Range Shift of Snow Leopard in Future Climate Change Scenarios

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) lives in alpine ecosystems in Central Asia, where it could face intensive climate change and is thus a major conservation concern. We compiled a dataset of 406 GPS-located occurrences based on field surveys, literature, and the GBIF database. We used Random Forest to build different species distribution models with a maximum of 27 explanatory variables, including climatic, topographical, and human impact variables, to predict potential distribution for the snow leopard and make climate change projections. We estimated the potential range shifts of the snow leopard under two global climate models for different representative concentration pathways for 2050 and 2070. We found the distribution center of the snow leopard may move northwest by about 200 km and may move upward in elevation by about 100 m by 2070. Unlike previous studies on the range shifts of the snow leopard, we highlighted that upward rather than northward range shifts are the main pathways for the snow leopard in the changing climate, since the landform of their habitat allows an upward shift, whereas mountains and valleys would block northward movement. Conservation of the snow leopard should therefore prioritize protecting its current habitat over making movement corridors.

Maxent Modelling Predicts a Shift in Suitable Habitats of a Subtropical Evergreen Tree (Cyclobalanopsis glauca (Thunberg) Oersted) under Climate Change Scenarios in China

Climate change has caused substantial shifts in the geographical distribution of many species. There is growing evidence that many species are migrating in response to climate change. Changes in the distribution of dominant tree species induced by climate change can have an impact not only on organisms such as epiphytes and understory vegetation, but also on the whole ecosystem. Cyclobalanopsis glauca is a dominant tree species in the mingled evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forests of China. Understanding their adaptive strategies against climate change is important for understanding the future community structure. We employed the Maxent framework to model current suitable habitats of C. glauca under current climate conditions and predicted it onto the climate scenarios for 2041–2060 and 2081–2100 using 315 occurrence data. Our results showed that annual precipitation was the most critical factor for the distribution of C. glauca. In the future, increasing precipitation would reduce the limitation of water on habitats, leading to an expansion of the distribution to a higher latitude and higher altitude. At the same time, there were habitat contractions at the junction of the Jiangxi and Fujian Provinces. This study can provide vital information for the management of C. glauca, and serve as a reminder for managers to protect C. glauca in the range contraction areas.

Which Large- and Medium-Sized Mammals Use Commercial Short-Rotation Coppice as Habitat?

We surveyed occurrence and activity of large- and medium-sized mammals on six commercial mini-rotation short-rotation coppice (SRC) plantations in northern Germany by camera trapping in different seasons (winter, late summer). In total, eleven species (6–9 per site) were detected. This corresponds to the majority of mammal species occurring in the study region. Roe deer, wild boar and red fox were found across all sites. All other species were detected on fewer sites and some in only one of the seasons. Roe deer was the most active species both in terms of visit frequency (days with detection) and use intensity (detection numbers). With few exceptions on individual sites, all other species showed significantly lower activity. Number of detected species and activity of most of the species did not differ between seasons. Furthermore, there were no differences between near-edge and central areas of the crops with regard to the activity of the occurring species. Activity of individual species on different sites, however, differed considerably in some cases. Our results show that a wide range of mammal species are basically able to include SRC into their habitat utilisation. However, the sporadic use by most species indicates a rather limited current habitat value of the surveyed plantations. Options to increase the habitat value of SRC for mammals are suggested, but their effectiveness needs to be tested in future studies. Since the spatial and temporal scope of our study was limited and only SRC of a uniform age-class were considered, our results are not immediately applicable to other landscapes, seasons or types and management phases of SRC. Therefore, further research is required that considers these aspects as well as species-specific patterns of habitat selection in comparison to other habitat types.

Modeling of the Potential Geographical Distribution of Three Fritillaria Species Under Climate Change.

Fritillaria species, a well-known Chinese traditional medicine for more than 2,000 years, have become rare resources due to excessive harvesting. In order to balance the economical requirement and ecological protection of Fritillaria species, it is necessary to determine (1) the important environmental variables that were responsible for the spatial distribution, (2) distribution change in response to climate change in the future, (3) ecological niche overlap between various Fritillaria species, and (4) the correlation between spatial distribution and phylogenies as well. In this study, the areas with potential ecological suitability for Fritillaria cirrhosa, Fritillaria unibracteata, and Fritillaria przewalskii were predicted using MaxEnt based on the current occurrence records and bioclimatic variables. The result indicated that precipitation and elevation were the most important environmental variables for the three species. Moreover, the current suitable habitats of F. cirrhosa, F. unibracteata, and F. przewalskii encompassed 681,951, 481,607, and 349,199 km2, respectively. Under the scenario of the highest concentration of greenhouse gas emission (SSP585), the whole suitable habitats of F. cirrhosa and F. przewalskii reach the maximum from 2021 to 2100, while those of F. unibracteata reach the maximum from 2021 to 2100 under the scenario of moderate emission (SSP370) from 2021 to 2100. The MaxEnt data were also used to predict the ecological niche overlap, and thus high overlap occurring among three Fritillaria species was observed. The niche overlap of three Fritillaria species was related to the phylogenetic analysis despite the non-significance (P > 0.05), indicating that spatial distribution was one of the factors that contributed to the speciation diversification. Additionally, we predicted species-specific habitats to decrease habitat competition. Overall, the information obtained in this study provided new insight into the potential distribution and ecological niche of three species for the conservation and management in the future.

Marula (Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra, Anacardiaceae) thrives under climate change in sub‐Saharan Africa

AbstractClimate change threatens the persistence of some plant species, especially those highly adapted to their microclimates. The aim of the study was to determine the current suitable habitat of marula (Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra) and to forecast the habitat under different climate change scenarios. Predictions were made in Maxent using 490 occurrence records, four representative concentration pathways (RCPs) and three general circulation models (GCMs). Variables used were altitude, soil characteristics, monthly precipitation, monthly minimum and maximum temperatures and 19 bioclimatic variables. The current suitable habitat of marula largely occurs in mopane and dry miombo woodlands of southern Africa, including Madagascar. Permutation importance test showed that precipitation in November (30.1%), temperature seasonality (22.1%) and mean temperature of wettest quarter (14.3%) contributed significantly to the model of the current suitable habitat. When forecasted, the suitable habitat expanded under all GCMs and RCPs. On average in 2050, the range expanded by 26.0% (RCP2.6), 33.8% (RCP4.5), 24.8% (RCP6.0) and 42.3% (RCP8.5), while in 2070, it expanded by 30.0% (RCP2.6), 39.9% (RCP4.5), 33.3% (RCP6.0) and 45.1% (RCP8.5). The subspecies is not directly threatened by climate change, but indirect threats remain uncertain.

Ensemble modelling enables identification of suitable sites for habitat restoration of threatened biodiversity under climate change: A case study of Himalayan Trillium

In an era of climate change, identifying suitable habitats for ecosystem restoration is critical for conservation of globally threatened biodiversity. Here, we integrate the insights gained from ensemble modelling with the community ecology data on threatened Himalayan Trillium (Trillium govanianum) to identify the suitable sites for its habitat restoration. We used ensemble modelling to map the current potential distribution and predict the future suitable habitats for the species under future climate change scenarios. The predictive accuracy of the ensemble model was fairly good; and the most influential variables governing the distribution of Himalayan Trillium were precipitation of the driest month followed by mean diurnal range. The current potential suitable habitats for this species are mostly located in western parts of the Himalaya; however, a range shift from western to eastern Himalaya is predicted under future climate change scenarios. Further, the results of community data revealed that Himalayan Trillium is positively associated with two tree species (Abies pindrow and Taxus wallichiana) forming forest top-story, four understory shrubs (Viburnum grandiflorum, Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana, Skimmia laureola and Rhododendron campanulatum) and one herbaceous species (Podophyllum hexandrum). In particular, the shrubs serve as natural micro-refuges by facilitating the suitable growth and protect the species from unsustainable extraction and livestock grazing. Our findings highlight a two-pronged strategy for habitat restoration of Himalayan Trillium: (i) identification of suitable habitats using ensemble modelling at the pan-Himalayan scale, (ii) and its integration with the community information at local scale. Such an integrated approach offers a nature-based solution in guiding the climate change-integrated restoration programs in the Himalaya, and elsewhere in the world.

Spaceflight Virology: What Do We Know about Viral Threats in the Spaceflight Environment?

Viruses constitute a significant part of the human microbiome, so wherever humans go, viruses are brought with them, even on space missions. In this mini review, we focus on the International Space Station (ISS) as the only current human habitat in space that has a diverse range of viral genera that infect microorganisms from bacteria to eukaryotes. Thus, we have reviewed the literature on the physical conditions of space habitats that have an impact on both virus transmissibility and interaction with their host, which include UV radiation, ionizing radiation, humidity, and microgravity. Also, we briefly comment on the practices used on space missions that reduce virus spread, that is, use of antimicrobial surfaces, spacecraft sterilization practices, and air filtration. Finally, we turn our attention to the health threats that viruses pose to space travel. Overall, even though efforts are taken to ensure safe conditions during human space travel, for example, preflight quarantines of astronauts, we reflect on the potential risks humans might be exposed to and how those risks might be aggravated in extraterrestrial habitats.

The biology of a newly discovered sardine: Length-weight relationship and condition factor of Amblygaster indiana Mary, Balasubramanian, Selvaraju & Shiny, 2017 from the South-west coast of India

Length-weight relationship (LWR) was estimated for Amblygaster indiana from Eraviputhenthurai, south-west coast of India. The fish samples were collected from March 2018 to February 2019 from the fish landing centres and fish markets of Eraviputhenthurai, Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. Altogether, 82 specimens were collected from gill nets and shore seines during the period. The value of parameter b in the equation of LWR was estimated to be 3.36 and provides the first estimate of LWR for A. indiana. The value of the condition factor K (1.15) and relative condition factor K n (1.003) in the present study indicates that the fish is in good condition in terms of health, growth, physical, and biological environmental conditions and there seems to be no adverse factor for A. indiana in its current habitat. The current study is also one of the first documented reports on the biological aspects of A. indiana and will be helpful for future research, conservation and sustainable management of the species.

Range expansion of Cakile edentula (Brassicaceae), an invasive species, in Japan as well as current distribution and habitat in the San’in region

Range expansion of <i>Cakile edentula</i> (Brassicaceae), an invasive species, in Japan as well as current distribution and habitat in the San’in region

Predicting the Current and Future Suitable Habitats for Endemic and Endangered Ethiopian Wolf Using Maxent Model

Predicting the Current and Future Suitable Habitats for Endemic and Endangered Ethiopian Wolf Using Maxent Model

Predicting habitat suitability of Caiman yacare and assessing the role of protected areas under current and future climate and deforestation models

Climate change and habitat degradation are recognized as serious threats for wildlife and an important aspects to be considered in conservation biology. However, little is known about how such environmental changes might impact crocodylians inhabiting the Neotropics and the effectiveness of Protected Areas (PAs) for long-term species conservation. To fill this gap, we used the Yacare Caiman (Caiman yacare) as a model to explore how climate change and habitat degradation might affect its distribution by 2050 and the effectiveness of current PAs for species conservation in response to future environmental changes. To this end, we estimated C. yacare suitable habitat using an ensemble modeling and consensus approach and assessed the species distribution variation inside and outside PAs as a consequence of two greenhouse emission scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways [RCPs] 4.5 and 8.5), and three General Circulation Models (GCMs; ACCESS1-0, CANESM2, and MRI-CGCM3) for 2050. We estimated the current suitable habitat for C. yacare to be 854,494 km2 divided across five countries: Brazil (396,476 km2), Bolivia (377,853 km2), Paraguay (38,288 km2), Argentina (35,423 km2), and Peru (6,451 km2). Of these countries, Peru is the only one that can be considered “potential” because the species has not been registered there yet. We found that currently only 26.8% (228,835 km2) of C. yacare suitable habitat is under any type of protection of the IUCN Protected Area Categories System, which is currently well preserved from habitat degradation with only 1.9% reduced due to deforestation. We predicted that on average 56.2% of the current species range might be lost because of climate change and habitat degradation and only 14.7% of its suitable range could be preserved based on the current PAs system. Based on our assessment, we showed that future climate change scenarios and habitat degradation processes will require the establishment of additional PAs as well as the implementation of sustainable management strategies emphasizing corridors and suitable habitat linkages. These integrative approaches can be implemented in several ecoregions including the Pantanal flooded savannas, Cerrado woodlands and savannas, Beni savanna, Chiquitano dry forests, and Amazon moist forests, which we predict will be relatively well-preserved under most of the future climate change scenarios and constituting as priority regions for the long-term conservation of the species and tropical biodiversity.

Habitat distribution modeling of endangered medicinal plant Picrorhiza kurroa (Royle ex Benth) under climate change scenarios in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

Climate change has been the key factor in changing the alpine vegetation's habitat and causing it to migrate to higher latitudes. The present study aims to model the current and future potential habitat distribution of endangered medicinal plant Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth in Uttarakhand Himalaya using the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling. We initially select twenty-two environmental variables (bioclimatic + topographic) got from the Fifty-four (54) species occurrence points, which were further reduced to nine variables to prevent multicollinearity. Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1–2.6 and SSP2–4.5) from the CMIP6 (BCC-CSM2-MR) climate model for the periods 2041–60 and 2061–80 were used to predict the current and future habitat distribution of P. kurroa. Results showed that the precipitation of the driest month (Bio 14; 33.8%), isothermality (Bio 3; 20.2%), mean temperature of warmest quarter (Bio 10; 12.7%), and temperature annual range (Bio 7; 12.2%) were the important bioclimatic variables influencing the habitat of P. kurroa. Overall, there is a decrease in the habitat of P. kurroa under climate change scenarios. The present results may prove insightful for the decision-makers to identify suitable sites in the wild for the further propagation of P. kurroa.

Identifying the habitat suitability and built-in corridors for Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) movement in the northern highlands of Pakistan

Identifying habitat suitability and potential corridors are important tools for biodiversity conservation in the face of climate change. We modeled habitat suitability and simulated possible corridors for movement and gene flow among the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) population in the Northern Highlands of Pakistan (NHP). Results indicated that the areas of 13,923 km2 and 21,931 km2 suitable for the Asiatic black bear under current and future scenarios respectively. Under the future scenario, we found an area of 12,657 km2 (57.21%) as increase in suitable habitat (ISHf) and 4649 km2 (33.39%) area as a decrease in current suitable habitat (DSHc). Our model predicted that about >65% (9274 km2) of the current suitable habitat as a climate refugia which is projected from the center to southeast east and northwest of the NHP primarily in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK). The attitudinal range of refugia was projected from 688 m to 4483 m with >56% at the elevations between 2001 m to 3000 m. A very small portion of suitable habitats (current suitable habitat = 2.75%, future suitable habitat = 5.11%) were projected under the protected areas. Maps connecting suitable habitats identified different regions delineated as important for the dispersal of Asiatic black bears, which mainly distributed in the PAK and KPK. Our results help informs conservation strategies and management plans for mitigating the impacts of climate change on Asiatic black bears in the NHP.

Identifying traits that enable lizard adaptation to different habitats

AbstractAimSpecies adapt differently to contrasting environments, such as open habitats with sparse vegetation and forested habitats with dense forest cover. We investigated colonization patterns in the open and forested environments in the diagonal of open formations and surrounding rain forests (i.e. Amazonia and Atlantic Forest) in Brazil, tested whether the diversification rates were affected by the environmental conditions and identified traits that enabled species to persist in those environments.LocationSouth America, Brazil.TaxonSquamata, Lizards.MethodsWe used phylogenetic information and the current distribution of species in open and forested habitats to estimate ancestral ranges and identify range shifts relative to the current habitats. To evaluate whether these environments influenced species diversification, we tested 12 models using a Hidden Geographic State Speciation and Extinction analysis. Finally, we combined phylogenetic relatedness and species traits in a machine learning framework to identify the traits permitting adaptation in those contrasting environments.ResultsWe identified 41 total transitions between open and forested habitats, of which 80% were from the forested habitats to the open habitats. Widely distributed species had higher speciation, turnover, extinction, and extinction fraction rates than species in forested or open habitats, but had also the lower net diversification rate. Mean body temperature, microhabitat, female snout–vent length and diet were identified as putative traits that enabled adaptation to different environments, and phylogenetic relatedness was an important predictor of species occurrence.Main conclusionsTransitions from forested to open habitats are most common, highlighting the importance of habitat shift in current patterns of biodiversity. The combination of phylogenetic reconstruction of ancestral distributions and the machine learning framework enables us to integrate organismal trait data, environmental data and evolutionary history in a manner that could be applied on a global scale.

Habitat protection and planning for three Ephedra using the MaxEnt and Marxan models

As renowned species for use in sand fixation and traditional Chinese medicines, Ephedra sinica Stapf, Ephedra intermedia Schrenk ex Mey and Ephedra equisetina Bunge have important ecological and medicinal value. However, although conservation measures have been implemented, the suitable habitat for these species has been shrinking at a remarkable rate in recent years due to climate change and anthropogenic activities. The identification of suitable habitats for these three Ephedra is essential for their protection and cultivation. Thus, this study proposed a new method for planning the best species conservation habitat through fitting errors caused by a single model. The method modeled the current suitable habitats of the three Ephedra species using the MaxEnt model and evaluated the key environmental variables defining the Ephedra distribution based on recorded occurrence data for Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Qinghai. The results showed that human activities were the most important environmental parameter affecting the distribution of the three species, and land cover, ground frost frequency and precipitation accounted for an important proportion of the model evaluation. Second, the results obtained with the MaxEnt model were coupled with the finding from the Marxan model to identify priority conservation areas for the three Ephedra species. The results revealed that the most suitable habitats for E. sinica were mainly concentrated in eastern and central Inner Mongolia, E. intermedia was relatively distributed in southern and central Gansu, and the areas of E. equisetina were mainly distributed in northern Xinjiang. The priority conservation areas for E. sinica, E. intermedia, and E. equisetina were 38068.12 km2, 26446.74 km2 and 36360.6 km2, respectively. The comprehensive analysis indicated that be use of MaxEnt coupled with the Marxan model to model the suitable habitat of these Ephedra species eliminates the distribution errors introduced by each model alone. The protection of wild Ephedra should be a priority, and the scale of the artificial planting of Ephedra should be enlarged. Given these results, the three Ephedra species included in our study urgently need to be subjected to targeted conservation management to ensure the renewal of Ephedra communities and to maintain the supply of medicinal materials. This study provides a useful reference for the protection and cultivation of these three Ephedra.