Prediction of Potential Suitable Distribution Areas for Populus euphratica Using the MaxEnt Model

【Objective】 Populus euphratica is an important tree species in arid areas,the species is of great significance for maintaining the ecological environment stability in arid areas. The paper tries to identify the dominant environmental variables that limit the distribution of P. euphratica,and to predict its suitable distribution area,in order to provide a theoretical basis for the protection and restoration of the species.【Method】 The geographical information of 226 existing occurrences of P. euphratica and four types of environmental variables,including climate,topography,soil and hydrology were analyzed using the MaxEnt ecological niche modeling to simulate the potential suitable distribution areas for the species. Evaluation of credibility of the MaxEnt model,comparison of the accuracies of simulation using single climate variable and four types of environmental variables, and identification of the environmental variables limiting the distribution of the species were carried out with combination of method o