Research Articles

Possible refugia for Fagaceae species in China under climate change

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  • 1Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and State Key Laboratory for Vegetation Structure, Function and Construction (VegLab), Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
    2Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Chengdu, China

    *Corresponding author. E-mail: jicj@urban.pku.edu.cn

Received date: 2024-08-08

  Accepted date: 2024-11-05

  Online published: 2025-03-17

Supported by

This work was partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32271622 and 32471554) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFF0802304).

Abstract

China represents a significant global hotspot for species in the family Fagaceae, which are widely distributed across the country and play a crucial role in various ecological and social systems. As the global cliamte is changing rapidly, predicting the future distribution and richness of these species in China holds substantial importance. This study presents the first national-scale assessment of the future distribution of 243 Fagaceae species in China, utilizing ensemble species distribution models (SDMs) for the 2050s and 2070s under various climate change scenarios. The SDM projections indicate notable changes in the distribution of Fagaceae species, characterizing with an overall decline in the distribution area, an upward migration in elevation and a northeastward shift in their range. These changes are expected to significantly alter the spatial pattern of species richness, creating possible refugia in the southwestern mountainous regions and the western Qinling Mountains. We further revealed that a considerable amount of China’s natural reserves will show decreased richness of Fagaceae under climate change. Our study systematically evaluates the impact of future climate change on the distribution of Fagaceae species in China, potentially helpful for conservation planning of these species in China.

Cite this article

Jiangling Zhu, Chengjun Ji, Heng Zhang, Qinwei Ran, Shengli Tao, Zhiheng Wang, Xiaoting Xu, Qiong Cai Jingyun Fang . Possible refugia for Fagaceae species in China under climate change[J]. Journal of Plant Ecology, 2025 , 18(3) : 1 -16 . DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtae111

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