Climatic niche as a modeler of the distribution pattern of Schinopsis brasiliensis in the Neotropical

Abstract

Schinopsis brasiliensis Engl. (Anacardiaceae) is a woody medicinal plant interesting to research and conservation due to timber extraction, high pharmacological potential and cultural value in the Brazilian semi-arids. In this research, we modeled the potential distribution of the species in the Neotropical, identified the climate limiting factors of its distribution and measured the percentage of adequate protected areas. The model was generated in the Maxent software, through the combination of 469 registers of the species occurrence and nine climate variables from the WorldClim data base and presented good development  (AUC = 0.976).  The potentially adequate areas were estimated along the dry diagonal in South America, in addition to fragmented areas at the coast of Peru and Ecuador. Precipitation, temperature and atmospheric humidity were the most influential variables on the prediction of climatically viable areas for the species. The results indicate low representation of protected areas (0.003%) in highly adequate areas, which demonstrates the necessity of expansion, implementation of measures of conservation and management of S. brasiliensis. The findings in this study, therefore, can be used for scientific support on delineating these measurements.