Properly predict the growth of (Ferula assa-foetida L.) in northeastern Iran using the maximum entropy model

Ferula assa-foiteda L., as one of the most important range plants in northeastern Iran, plays an important role in soil conservation and the economy of rangeland stockholder. However, misuse and destruction of its habitats are among the factors threatening this natural capital. This study was conducted to identify potential habitats of this species in the two provinces of Khorasan Razavi and North Khorasan, which can be a step towards to facilitate and develop replanting and rehabilitation operations of this species. Spatial data of the presence of this species with a pixel size of 1100 × 1100 m were used as actual suitable places for its growth and layers of environmental information such as climate, soil, geology and physiography were used as predictor variables. First, in Biomaper Version 4, the correlation of prediction variables was examined and independent variables were selected. The potential habitat areas extracted from the species distribution model mapped with the Maxent 3.3 software. The results showed that the used model had good accuracy and reached to AUC of 0.97. In terms of significance, the study of input variables to the model using the Jackknife test showed that, respectively, land unit components, seasonal temperature, geological formation, dominant land slope, habitat height and daily average temperature are suitable for the potential habitat of Ferula assa-foiteda L. species in the level of the study area is of the utmost importance. The results of this study can be used to identify the ecological needs of the species (Ferula assa-foiteda L.) and to develop and rehabilitate their habitats.