From the Last Interglacial Period to the 2070s: Long-Term Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Sophora alopecuroides L., a Dominant Desert-Steppe Herb in China

作者：Yinghui Zheng, Yang Lv, Xu Su, Yuping Liu, Mir Muhammad Nizamani, Aftab Ahmad, Zhaxi Cairang, Jieqiong Lei, Xuanlin Gao, Kaiyue Wei, Xu Feng, Ting Lv, Yanan Wang · 发表于：Ecologies · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.3390/ecologies7030075 · 研究领域：Species Distribution and Climate Change、Geology and Paleoclimatology Research、Tree-ring climate responses

Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of dominant desert-steppe species under climate change is critical for sustainable management of arid ecosystems. Sophora alopecuroides L., a perennial drought-tolerant leguminous herb with substantial medicinal and forage value, is an important component of these ecosystems. Based on 137 occurrence records and 10 environmental variables, we applied the MaxEnt model and ArcGIS to simulate suitable habitats and range shifts of S. alopecuroides across multiple periods, including the Last Interglacial (LIG), Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Mid-Holocene (MH), present, and the 2050s and 2070s under four representative concentration pathways (RCP 2.6, 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5). The model showed high predictive performance, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) greater than 0.9. Temperature annual range (Bio7), elevation, precipitation of the warmest quarter (Bio18), mean temperature of the driest quarter (Bio9), and annual mean temperature (Bio1) were identified as key environmental drivers, indicating that the distribution of this species is mainly shaped by temperature regimes, seasonal water availability, and topography. Under current conditions, the total suitable habitat accounts for 28.9% of China’s territory, closely matching the known distribution. Since the LIG, the total suitable area has fluctuated slightly, being larger during the LIG and LGM, smaller during the MH, and close to the present level thereafter. ...