Climate Change Impact Assessment and Species Distribution Model of a Critically Endangered Tree Using MaxEnt Modelling

Climate change is a key factor driving species extinction by altering their habitats and populations. We can already see its impact on ecosystems around the globe, especially at the species level. Using species distribution models helps us understand how climate change might shift where species live under different climate scenarios, which is crucial for protecting endangered plants and animals. This study focuses on predicting how climate change will affect the important tree species Anisoptera scaphula in Bangladesh's Chittagong division, using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model. Under the SSP2-4.5 (2021-2040) and SSP2-4.5 (2041-2060), as well as SSP5-8.5 (2021-2040) and SSP5-8.5 (2041-2060) scenario, our model predicts suitable habitats for this species in 2040 and 2060. The results show minimal changes in suitable habitats, suggesting that A. scaphula is quite resilient to climate change. These findings can guide policies for wildlife conservation and forest management, highlighting the species' importance to various animals.