Abstract:
Objective Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. is an important medicinal plant in China that occupies a significant position among traditional herbal resources due to its wide pharmacological activities. However, its natural distribution area is facing progressive shrinkage and fragmentation under the influence of climate change and human activities. This study aims to systematically evaluate its current and future habitat suitability patterns.
Method Based on 430 occurrence records, a spatial thinning method was applied to reduce the impact of uneven spatial sampling. Ten environmental variables, including climatic, edaphic, and topographic factors, were selected through analyses of variable contribution rates, Jackknife tests, and multicollinearity (Pearson |r| ≥ 0.8) to identify key variables. A habitat suitability prediction model for T. wilfordii was established using MaxEnt, and the model’s hyperparameters were optimized by adjusting Feature Classes (FC) and Regularization Multiplier (RM). AICc and partial ROC were used as evaluation indicators, and the optimal parameter combination was determined as FC = LQT and RM = 2.9. The model predicted the potential suitable distribution of T. wilfordii under current conditions and four future Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, SSP585) for the 2040 s, 2060 s, 2080 s, and 2100 s. The key environmental factors and the spatiotemporal migration of the distribution centroid were also analyzed.
Result The results showed that the current suitable habitats of T. wilfordii were mainly distributed in south-central and southwestern China, with core areas in Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou and Hubei provinces. The highly suitable area was 5.011 × 105 km2, and the moderately suitable area was 7.001 × 105 km2. The main environmental driving factors included BIO14 (precipitation of the driest month), BIO6 (minimum temperature of the coldest month), BIO18 (precipitation of the warmest quarter), BIO3 (isothermality), BIO17 (precipitation of the driest quarter) and altitude (ALTITUDE). Under future climate scenarios, the overall suitable habitat area of T. wilfordii showed a decreasing trend. From 2020 to 2100, the highly suitable areas under SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585 scenarios were projected to decline to 4.402 × 105 km2, 3.377 × 105 km2, 2.674 × 105 km2 and 2.178 × 105 km2, respectively. Habitat fragmentation was expected to intensify, and the distribution centroid would slightly shift toward the southeast.
Conclusion This study reveals the distribution dynamics of T. wilfordii under climate change and provides a scientific basis for its resource conservation, habitat management, and climate-adaptive introduction. The results offer important references for dynamic assessment and strategy formulation of medicinal plant suitable habitats.