Geographic distribution and impacts of climate change on the suitable habitats of Zingiber species in China

Climate change has a crucial impact on plant resources distribution, especially on agricultural crops. Species belonging to genus Zingiber are important crop resources in China, and their rhizomes are widely used in medicine and food. In this study, the ecological distribution and richness of the genus Zingiber were analyzed using a DIVA-GIS analysis of 967 georeferenced herbarium records to produce present and future distribution simulations using the MaxEnt model. The results showed that the genus Zingiber is widely distributed in 28 provinces in China, with the greatest richness in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Yunnan. Based on our model, precipitation of the driest month, precipitation of the warmest quarter, and the minimum temperature of the coldest month were the most significant bioclimatic variables controlling the distribution of five selected Zingiber species. Future climate change will likely result in the increase of suitable habitat area for Zingiber officinale by 2.85%, but dramatically decrease that for Zingiber striolatum by 18.04%, Zingiber zerumbet by 17.87%, Zingiber corallinum by 12.40%, and Zingiber mioga by 9.46%. Thus, conservation measures should be taken to preserve these valuable resources.