How can species distribution models help us with determining areas of special interest for orchid diversity in Colombia?
Abstract
Species distribution models (SDM) are a useful tool often applied in many branches of biology. In combination with GIS techniques, these models are especially useful for predicting occurrence of rare species, such as orchids, in areas or countries, where certain parts are not fully explored because of low accessibility (due to political situation) and/or inaccessibility of the sites.
Colombia is one of the countries that suffered from paramilitary groups attacks that prevented any serious research in numerous parts of the country. There are still some gaps in floristic results and therefore species distribution in the country must be estimated by an extrapolation of known ecological preferences of particular taxa.
Thus the question is: where are the best places for orchid species in Colombia and how to find them? Here we show a possible way of using the SDM and Zonation analysis to determine areas of special interest for orchid diversity. When gathering our data, we tried to cover as many altitudes as we were able to reach in the following areas: Parque Nacional Natural Tatamá, Otún Quimbaya and Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados, Parque Nacional Chingaza, in the Sibundoy valley (Putumayo department) and in some smaller areas in the Cauca valley.
We predict areas of potential occurrence of some orchid species, determine the most important areas in terms of orchid diversity and compare our results with the existing net of protected areas in Colombia. Our data are restricted only to the most common species and extrapolation may not be 100% accurate, but our approach is an additional way how to reveal the most important areas for orchid conservation.
Moreover, it can help to select areas that could be incorporated in the national conservation systems.