Conservation planning of the genus Rhododendron in Northeast China based on current and future suitable habitat distributions

Protected areas and ecotourism are both conservation measures for plant resources, but for one specific plant species, the priority of them needs a reasonable planning. The suitable habitat distribution of species is the basis for planning, and the impact of climate change on habitat distribution should also be considered. Based on maximum entropy model (MaxEnt), we assessed the current and future suitable habitat distributions of seven species of genus Rhododendron in Northeast China. Combined with the distributions of existing protected areas and tourist attractions, the conservation planning is recommended. Our results showed that: (1) the suitable habitat areas of R. redowskianum and R. aureum were mainly distributed in the Changbai Mountains covering only 2.05% and 3.84% of the total area of Northeast China, and showed decreasing trends in the future. (2) The suitable habitat areas for R. schlippenbachii were mainly distributed in the southeast and southwest of Liaoning Province, with a cover of 4.29% in Northeast China. For R. mucronulatum and R. micranthum, suitable habitat areas were mainly distributed in the east and west of Liaoning Province, covering 14.27% and 7.95% respectively. For R. dauricum and R. lapponicum, suitable habitat areas were mainly distributed in the Greater Khingan Range, Lesser Khingan Range, and Changbai Mountains, covering 43.76% and 22.24% respectively. Moreover, they all showed increasing trends in the future. (3) Therefore, protected area was recommended for R. redowskianum and R. aureum, while ecotourism or both protected area and ecotourism was recommended for R. schlippenbachii, R. mucronulatum, R. micranthum, R. dauricum, and R. lapponicum. This study provides planning suggestions for the conservation of Rhododendron and is a reference for the conservation of other plant species.