Distribution prediction and assessment of Mikania micrantha in Yunnan province based on MaxEnt model

MaxEnt niche model was used to predict the suitable distribution area of Yunnan Mikania micrantha. The results showed that AUC values of the ROC curve were all above 0.9, suggesting that the predicted results had relatively high credibility. The main environmental factors affecting the distribution of M. micrantha included the rainfall in the wettest season (contribution rate of 28.8%), elevation (contribution rate of 22.1%), present land cover (contribution rate of 15.3% ), average temperature in the wettest season, annual rainfall, and annual average temperature. In the light of analysis on the response curve of factors, the optimal environmental parameters for Yunnan M. micrantha were as follows: an elevation of 1 100 m, an average temperature of 22 in the wettest season, 760 mm of rainfall in the wettest season, and land cover of free growing forest land, shrub land and wasteland, etc. Finally, from the aspects of sample point count, selection of environmental factors and man-made influences, the distribution areas of Yunnan M. micrantha predicted via MaxEnt model were compared and evaluated.