Species distribution modelling for conservation of an endangered endemic orchid

Abstract

Navasota ladies'-tresses is an orchid native to eastern and central Texas. It was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1982 and by the State of Texas soon afterwards. Wang et al. (2015) analyzed field data collected over nine years to identify areas of critical habitat, areas into which the species could expand its range, and areas that might serve as conservation corridors. These results will provide valuable information for those interested in conservation and management of this endangered orchid as well as a framework for the development of future studies of this and other endangered plants.

Climatic adaptation and ecological descriptors of wild beans from Mexico

“…Agroecological characterization of wild/cultivated niches helps to determine the environmental requirements of a species, providing information on the adaptability and degree of tolerance to specific ecological conditions (Maxted, Dulloo, & Ford‐Lloyd, 2016; Pliscoff & Fuentes‐Castillo, 2011; Svenning, Fløjgaard, Marske, Nógues‐Bravo, & Normand, 2011; Wang et al., 2009). Ecological descriptors are environmental data from collection sites obtained after the standardization of map and layer construction using geographical information systems (GIS) (Cuervo‐Robayo et al., 2014; Suárez‐Venero, Soto‐Carreño, Garea‐Llanos, & Solano‐Ojeda, 2015; Wang et al., 2015). One classification system based on GIS aids in the development of a conservation strategy by enabling the retro‐classification of germplasm collections, facilitating efforts to focus on further exploration, and research in those regions with high probabilities of the presence of specific species or genotypes.…”

“…Ecological descriptors are environmental data from collection sites obtained after the standardization of map and layer construction using geographical information systems (GIS) (Cuervo-Robayo et al, 2014;Suárez-Venero, Soto-Carreño, Garea-Llanos, & Solano-Ojeda, 2015;Wang et al, 2015). One classification system based on GIS aids in the development of a conservation strategy by enabling the retro-classification of germplasm collections, facilitating efforts to focus on further exploration, and research in those regions with high probabilities of the presence of specific species or genotypes.…”

“…One classification system based on GIS aids in the development of a conservation strategy by enabling the retro-classification of germplasm collections, facilitating efforts to focus on further exploration, and research in those regions with high probabilities of the presence of specific species or genotypes. This classification system also facilitates the selection of areas for conservation and restoration as well as the prediction of responses to climate change (Elith & Franklin, 2013;Porfirio et al, 2014;Ramírez-Villegas et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2015). López-Soto et al (2005) characterized climatic distribution types of 25 Phaseolus species throughout Mexico and defined environmental intervals where each species grew by itself.…”

Hierarchical species distribution models in support of vegetation conservation at the landscape scale

“…The findings presented here are promising and suggest avenues for future research. In particular, hierarchical SDMs could be further evaluated and tested for their use in a variety of local conservation efforts (see Guisan et al., ), such as reintroduction programs (Araújo & Peterson, ), management of endangered plant species (Wang et al., ), species selection in vegetation restoration programs (Gastón et al., ), comparing various scale preferences in partnership with stakeholders (Hughes et al., ), forest management (Mateo et al., ), and, especially, in the development of local restoration programs in the context of climate change (Eitzel et al., ; Jiang & Zhang, ). The consequences of climate change for the application of vegetation restoration, in particular, need further investigation (Harris, Hobbs, Higgs, & Aronson, ).…”

“…The resulting models can be used to support conservation planning decisions (Guisan et al., ; Tulloch et al., ), for instance by offering spatial knowledge on the potential suitability of plant species being considered for vegetation restoration programs (Gastón et al., ). There are numerous examples of SDMs applied to support management of endangered species (Guisan et al., ; Le Lay, Engler, Franc, & Guisan, ; Sousa‐Silva, Alves, Honrado, & Lomba, ; Wang et al., ), assessment of climate change effects on biodiversity (Patiño et al., ), biodiversity conservation plans (Ramirez‐Villegas et al., ), or reserve design (Mateo, de la Estrella, Felicísimo, Muñoz, & Guisan, ). However, despite the high potential applicability of SDMs for plant restoration (Gastón et al., ), they have rarely been applied for this purpose (but see; Burnside, Smith, & Waite, ; Gastón et al., ; van Loon et al., ).…”