The Impact of Human Pressure and Climate Change on the Habitat Availability and Protection of Cypripedium (Orchidaceae) in Northeast China

Abstract

Human pressure on the environment and climate change are two important factors contributing to species decline and overall loss of biodiversity. Orchids may be particularly vulnerable to human-induced losses of habitat and the pervasive impact of global climate change. In this study, we simulated the extent of the suitable habitat of three species of the terrestrial orchid genus Cypripedium in northeast China and assessed the impact of human pressure and climate change on the future distribution of these species. Cypripedium represents a genus of long-lived terrestrial orchids that contains several species with great ornamental value. Severe habitat destruction and overcollection have led to major population declines in recent decades. Our results showed that at present the most suitable habitats of the three species can be found in Da Xing’an Ling, Xiao Xing’an Ling and in the Changbai Mountains. Human activity was predicted to have the largest impact on species distributions in the Changbai Mountains. In addition, climate change was predicted to lead to a shift in distribution towards higher elevations and to an increased fragmentation of suitable habitats of the three investigated Cypripedium species in the study area. These results will be valuable for decision makers to identify areas that are likely to maintain viable Cypripedium populations in the future and to develop conservation strategies to protect the remaining populations of these enigmatic orchid species.

Geographical Distribution and Relationship with Environmental Factors of Paphiopedilum Subgenus Brachypetalum Hallier (Orchidaceae) Taxa in Southwest China

“…According to previous research, human pressure has had an important impact on the distribution of some Cypripedium orchid species [8]. In this study, we also found that the population density (POP)-an index of human pressure or human activity-was a crucial factor in explaining the distribution of Brachypetalum orchid species in southwest China.…”

“…As one of the global biodiversity hotspots [6], southwest China has a high level of orchid diversity [2], but the majority of these species are under threat. Furthermore, many orchids are significant in the horticultural industry for their unique and attractive flowers, such as Paphiopedilum villosum [7] and Cypripedium macranthos [8]. Moreover, several orchid species, such as Dendrobium crepidatum [9] and Bletilla striata [10], also have relatively high medicinal value, particularly in traditional Chinese medicine.…”

“…Notably, the genera of Paphiopedilum and Cypripedium are closely associated in terms of their phylogeny, although they have contrasting distribution areas and habitats [16]. Most species of Cypripedium are found in temperate areas [8], whereas a majority of Paphiopedilum species are grown in the tropics or subtropics [17].…”

“…Compared to plants of other families, orchids are extremely impressionable to habitat loss, fragmentation, and climate change [8,25,26]. The majority of orchids are narrowly distributed in specific and unique habitats because of their pollinator specialization, mycorrhizal specificity, and limited seed germination rate [2].…”

Predicting the Potential Distribution of Hylomecon japonica in China under Current and Future Climate Change Based on Maxent Model

“…D. L, Fu [13]. Among these models, the Maxent model has shown many advantages over other models when applied to "existence-only" species occurrence data, and is widely used for species distribution prediction and habitat suitability assessment [14][15][16][17].…”