Open AccessModelling the potential distribution and habitat suitability of the alien fungus Clathrus archeri in Romania
Author(s) -
Ciprian Bîrsan,
Constantin Mardari,
Ovidiu Copoț,
Cătălin Tănase
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
botanica serbica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.19
H-Index - 9
eISSN - 1821-2158
pISSN - 1821-2638
DOI - 10.2298/botserb2102241b
Subject(s) - habitat , species distribution , range (aeronautics) , geography , altitude (triangle) , ecology , distribution (mathematics) , physical geography , precipitation , alien species , snow cover , snow , principle of maximum entropy , invasive species , biology , meteorology , mathematical analysis , materials science , geometry , mathematics , composite material , artificial intelligence , computer science
Clathrus archeri is a saprophytic fungus native to the southern hemisphere which was introduced in Europe in the early twentieth century. Although it is naturalized in most regions of Central Europe, in Romania it is considered rather a rare species because it has been identified in only a few localities. Because of the rapid expansion of its range throughout Europe some authors assign this species an invasive potential. The objective of the paper was to identify both the potential distribution area and the potential suitable habitats for expansion in Romania and to highlight the environmental variables driving the probability of its occurrence. The maximum entropy model approach implemented in Maxent was used to model the species? potential distribution. The results highlighted altitude, snow cover length, the mean temperature of the driest quarter, and precipitation in the coldest quarter as the most important predictors of species? potential distribution in Romania. The map of the predicted distribution showed that the highest probability of occurrence for this species is in the mountainous and adjacent areas, while the map of habitat suitability confirmed that the best environmental conditions are in the Carpathians, while the most unfavourable are in the south-eastern regions of the country.