Potential distribution of the extremely endangered species Ostrya rehderiana (Betulaceae) in China under future climate change.

Global climate change is a major threat to biodiversity, which may increase the extinction risk of rare species, particularly thoselike Ostrya rehderiana Chun (Betulaceae) with very few remaining extant wild individuals. We aimed to estimate the potentialdistribution of O. rehderiana under climate change and to analyze possible relevant climatic factors. Maximum entropy (Maxent)was employed to model the potential distribution of O. rehderiana under present and future climate scenarios. Suitable habitatareas in different periods and the main contributing climate factors were identified using species distribution models.