Climate change not only affects the changes in the distribution of medicinal plants, but also influences the quality of medicinal materials. Corydalis decumbens is an important traditional herbal medicine in China, but there is a lack of relevant research on its geographical distribution. This study collected 84 effective occurrence records of C. decumbens in China and used MaxEnt and ArcGIS software to predict for the first time the potential distribution pattern of C. decumbens in current and future China. The results show that bioclimatic factors, especially precipitation and temperature, were the main factors affecting the distribution of C. decumbens. The total suitable habitat of C. decumbens in China was 824209.39 km2 at present, accounting for about 6.15% of China’s land area, with high-, medium-, and low-suitable habitat of 42378.57, 191487.52, and 590343.31 km2, respectively. The high-suitable habitat was mainly distributed in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. In the different future climate scenarios, the potential suitable habitat of C. decumbens will gradually decrease. Its distribution will still be concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin. Protopine and palmatine chloride contents were significantly higher in suitability habitats, especially the medium-suitability habitats, than in low-suitability habitats. The results of this study provide important reference for guiding the protection and cultivation of C. decumbens resources.
Yang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.