Predicting the geographical distribution of the genus Ferula (Ferula spp.) using habitat suitability modeling (Case study: Razavi and North Khorasan Provinces)

The Ferula spp. is one of the most important genus of rangeland plants in the northeastern region of Iran and plays an important role in soil conservation and livelihood of rangeland stockholder. However, improper exploitation and destruction of the plant's habitats are among the factors threatening this natural capital. This study was conducted to identify potential habitats of this genus in the two provinces of Khorasan Razavi and North Khorasan, which can be a step to facilitate and develop replanting and rehabilitation operations of this genus. Spatial data of the presence of this genus with a pixel size of 1100*1100 m were used as actual suitable sites for its growth and layers of environmental information such as climate, soil, geology and physiography were used as predictor variables. First, in Biomapper software version 4, the correlation of prediction variables was examined and important independent variables were selected. The potential habitat map extracted from distribution model mapped using Maxent 3.3 software. The results showed that the model used had good accuracy and reached the AUC of 0.94. In terms of importance. Investigating the input variables to the model using the Jackknife test showed that the variables of the slope, Geology, Soilland, habitat altitude (dem) and the annual average temperature (Bio1) have most important roles in the potential habitat of Ferula spp. In the study area the results of this study can be used to identify the ecological needs of species under study and development and revitalization of its habitats.