Can the distribution of sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn. f.) shift in the northeastern direction in India due to changing climate

摘要: Sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn. f.) is a dominant tree species, whose natural range lies between 20–32°N lat. and 75–95°E long., spread across 10 million ha in India. Species distribution models predict the species geographic ranges from occurrence records sitespecific environmental data. Here, we have (i) generated 1960s scenario for sal on basis of existing published literature; (ii) confirmed data using satellite imagery period 1972–75; (iii) run Maxent model to year 2020 under climate change SRES A1-B (iv) validated prediction more than double amount gathered during last decade (1998–2008). The identified moisture as key player that would influence shift towards northern eastern India, with greater 90% certainty. study highlights utility archived remote sensing providing locational information studies.