Modeling the Species Distribution of Three Dominant Coniferous Species in Taiwan
摘要
With the rapid rate of urbanization and increasing demands for forest resources, the vegetation cover has also decreased at a proportional rate in Taiwan. Government agencies and forest managers have come to realize the importance of the ecosystem and begun to implement conservation practices. Prediction of vegetation distribution will be a primary step in this effort. In this study, we developed logistic regression models for predicting the distribution of Abies kawakamii (Taiwan fir). Tsuga chinensis var. formnosana (Taiwan hemlock), and Chamaecyparis spp. (Taiwan cypress). The models achieved high R^2 and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) values. Overlaying the probability of map of Taiwan cypress and Taiwan fir showed a transition boundary for two species occurring at an elevation of approximately 2700 m. The distribution model showed an oval species distribution pattern, narrower and lower at north and south, and higher and wider in the middle. Therefore, the Massenerhebung effect, the northeasterly monsoons, and the cloud belt were also brought in to better explain the models against the species distribution in the real world. The model correctly predicted the species distribution using only 2 general environmental factors of latitude and elevation.