Integrating Habitat Suitability and Quality Assessments to Identify Conservation Priorities for Cycas panzhihuaensis

Yang, Yuanfeng; Ding, Yuting; Peng, Xuefeng; Wang, Juan; Li, Peilong; Wu, Mengjie; Zhang, Ying; Liu, Xing; Peng, Peihao

doi:10.3390/plants15040670

Open AccessArticle

Integrating Habitat Suitability and Quality Assessments to Identify Conservation Priorities for Cycas panzhihuaensis

by

Yuanfeng Yang

¹,

Yuting Ding

¹,

Xuefeng Peng

^2,3,

Juan Wang

¹,

Peilong Li

¹,

Mengjie Wu

¹,

Ying Zhang

¹,

Xing Liu

¹ and

Peihao Peng

^1,*

¹

College of Geography and Planning, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China

²

Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China

³

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Plants 2026, 15(4), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040670

Submission received: 6 January 2026 / Revised: 13 February 2026 / Accepted: 14 February 2026 / Published: 23 February 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Conservation of Protected Plant Species: From Theory to Practice)

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Abstract

This study assessed the conservation priorities for Cycas panzhihuaensis, a relict plant endemic to the dry-hot valleys of the Jinsha River, by integrating habitat suitability prediction with habitat quality evaluation. We used the MaxEnt model to identify its potential distribution and key environmental drivers and the InVEST model to evaluate habitat quality and degradation risk within the study area. Conservation priorities—categorized as hotspots, transition zones, and coldspots—were delineated by overlaying suitability classes with habitat quality levels. Spatial clustering of hotspots was examined using global spatial autocorrelation analysis. The results indicate that: (1) The highly suitable habitat for C. panzhihuaensis covers an area of 799.12 km², primarily concentrated in the dry-hot valleys of the Jinsha, Yalong, and Anning Rivers. January land surface temperature was the most significant environmental determinant of its distribution (contribution: 36.1%). (2) The overall habitat quality of the study region was relatively low (mean: 0.38), with a moderate risk of degradation. Areas of severe degradation spanned 14,629.31 km² (26.10% of the total area), largely coinciding with the river valleys and showing substantial overlap with the species’ suitable habitat. (3) The identified conservation hotspots (799.63 km²) exhibited a moderate and statistically significant positive spatial autocorrelation (global Moran’s I = 0.326). This integrated approach provides a spatially explicit framework for conservation planning, offering valuable insights applicable to other rare species in human-impacted landscapes.

Keywords: Cycas panzhihuaensis; MaxEnt; InVEST; suitable habitat; habitat quality; hotspots

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MDPI and ACS Style

Yang, Y.; Ding, Y.; Peng, X.; Wang, J.; Li, P.; Wu, M.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, X.; Peng, P. Integrating Habitat Suitability and Quality Assessments to Identify Conservation Priorities for Cycas panzhihuaensis. Plants 2026, 15, 670. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040670

AMA Style

Yang Y, Ding Y, Peng X, Wang J, Li P, Wu M, Zhang Y, Liu X, Peng P. Integrating Habitat Suitability and Quality Assessments to Identify Conservation Priorities for Cycas panzhihuaensis. Plants. 2026; 15(4):670. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040670

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yang, Yuanfeng, Yuting Ding, Xuefeng Peng, Juan Wang, Peilong Li, Mengjie Wu, Ying Zhang, Xing Liu, and Peihao Peng. 2026. "Integrating Habitat Suitability and Quality Assessments to Identify Conservation Priorities for Cycas panzhihuaensis" Plants 15, no. 4: 670. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040670

APA Style

Yang, Y., Ding, Y., Peng, X., Wang, J., Li, P., Wu, M., Zhang, Y., Liu, X., & Peng, P. (2026). Integrating Habitat Suitability and Quality Assessments to Identify Conservation Priorities for Cycas panzhihuaensis. Plants, 15(4), 670. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040670

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Integrating Habitat Suitability and Quality Assessments to Identify Conservation Priorities for Cycas panzhihuaensis

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