Impact of climate change on the spatial distribution of endemic legume species of the Guineo-Congolian forest, Africa

作者：Oyetola O. Oyebanji, Gabriel Salako, Lotanna M. Nneji, Segun O. Oladipo, K. A. Bolarinwa, Emmanuel C. Chukwuma, Adeola Oluwakemi Ayoola, Temidayo Ebenezer Olagunju, D.J. Ighodalo, Ifeanyi C. Nneji · 发表于：Ecological Indicators · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107282 · 被引用次数：27 · 研究领域：Species Distribution and Climate Change、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Plant and animal studies

Legumes (family Leguminosae) are an economically important and widely distributed species found in several regions of the world, including the Guineo-Congolian (GC) forest region. Recent studies have reported the impact of climate change on plant biodiversity. Thus, understanding the distribution pattern of the endemic legume species of the GC region under current and future climate scenarios are imperative for long-term conservation management plans. We used 762 occurrence data of the 237 endemic legume species to elucidate the habitat suitability and impact of climate change on the species. Analyses used an ecological niche modeling ensemble method to map the current and future (2050–2070) distribution patterns of the endemic legumes under the RCP 4.5 scenario. Further, we generated the ensemble of four different species distribution modeling methods to predict areas where climatically suitable regions is lost or gained under future climate change. The model predicted the current suitable areas for endemic legumes to be Southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo (COG), and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Our findings indicate precipitation of Warmest Quarter and seasonality as the significant climatic variables affecting the habitat suitability of endemic legumes in the GC regions. Results showed areas such as the coastal region of Cote d' Ivoire, southwest province of Cameroon, Central African Republic, COG (Ngounnie), central DRC, and southern Nige...