Modelling potential habitat of Ferula assa-foiteda using maximum entropy model in Isfahan province

Ferula assa-foiteda L., as one of the most significant medicinal and export plants in Iran, plays a role in the livelihood of stakeholders and the pharmaceutical industry. Over exploitation of this plant habitats and recent droughts will reduce plant density and eventually the extinction of this species in the near future. This study was conducted to identify potential habitats of this species in Isfahan province using modeling species distribution. For this purpose, during 3 years of field surveys, data of the studied species were collected from 88 presence points. Physiographic information (slope, elevation, aspect) and 19 bioclimatic variables were used in the modeling process. The potential species distribution map was produced using maximum entropy model and Geographic Information System. The results of model evaluation showed the proper performance of the model with the AUC value equal to 0.962. Analysis of variable importance using Jackknife test, showed that slope, temperature annual range, annual precipitation and precipitation of coldest quarter were identified as the most important environmental factors influencing the species distribution. Regarding the response curves to environmental factors, Ferula assa-foiteda is more likely to occure in areas with a slope of more than 70%, temperature annual range from about 37 to 43 °C, annual precipitation and precipitation of coldest quarter about 70 and 40 mm, respectively. Based on the obtained results, about 7% of the habitats of Isfahan province especially in the semi arid and steppe areas are suitable for the growth of Ferula assa-foiteda which is very important in management of rehabilitation and develop cultivation.