Climatic niche modeling of Persian oak Using Flexible discriminate analysis in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province

Development of new statistical techniques and the use of algorithms, powerful solution for predicting the presence, real and potential distribution of the vegetation has provided the so-called species distribution modeling. Persian Oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) is a prevalent species in Zagros forests. Recently, a large number of deaths among oak trees have been reported in their natural habitats. Therefore, this study aimed for predicting the potential geographical distribution of Persian Oak in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari province in the central Zagros region. In this study, we used 19 Bioclimatic variables derived from rainfall and temperature and three physiographical variables. For this regard, we used modeling to approach, Flexible discriminate analysis (FDA) to find a relation between occur of species and environmental factors under the R software. Temperature annual range and annual precipitation had the most importance role for habitat suitability of this species and (67.6% (changes in Persian Oak distribution was justified. The produced species distribution model had good accuracy as calculated Kappa coefficient and AUC were 0.76 and 0.93, respectively. The results of the model showed that 28.87%, (471590 ha) of in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province for the Persian Oak have had high habitat suitability The results of this study can be used in planning, conservation and rehabilitation of Persian oak.