Assessing habitat suitability based on geographic information system (GIS) and fuzzy: A case study of Schisandra sphenanthera Rehd. et Wils. in Qinling Mountains, China

Habitat requirements and spatial distribution of species are essential to biological conservation and management as well as ecosystems conservation and restoration. For some wild species, lacking of explicit criteria of suitable habitat condition is a limitation in their preliminary conservation and management. Schisandra sphenanthera Rehd. et Wils., a wild herb plant mainly located in Qinling Mountains has undergone dramatic drop as its growing market demand and exceeded harvesting, is now endangered. In this study, we collected samples of S. sphenanthera in Qinling Mountains by field work, and examined the content of schisantherin A with high efficiency liquid chromatography (HPLC). Combining the fuzzy membership functions, maximum entropy modeling and geographical information system (GIS), we obtained the suitable range of each factor affecting plant growth and spatial distribution of habitat suitability assessment. Moreover, the model we built is applicable to habitats besides Qinling Mountains by validation. The weight of each factor suggested that the amount of available light, temperature of growth period and content ratio of organic carbon played major roles in the habitat suitability of S. sphenanthera. The spatial distribution suggested that overall Qinling Mountains are suitable habitat for S. sphenanthera, where suitable habitat ratio amounts to 70.80%. This research will provide an effective, easy-operating and resources-saving method to determine the species habitat requirements and spatial habitat distribution. The results from this research will be influential in the future ecological conservation and management of S. sphenanthera in Qinling Mountains, and they would be taken as a reference for habitat suitability assessment research of other species.

► We took an herb plant without explicit habitat requirements in Qinling Mountains as research object.
► Fifteen environmental and ecogeographical factors were analyzed to assess habitat suitability.
► We combined GIS and Fuzzy to model spatial distribution and determine habitat requirements of herb.
► The model we built is applicable to other areas besides Qinling Mountains.
► The approach we employed is practical, cost-effective and time-saving with others comparison.