Climatic suitability zoning of natural pasture cultivation in Qinghai Province

With the impact of climate change on pasture growth, artificial planting has become a topic of interest. Establishing the influence of climate, soil, and altitude on the growth of native pasture can provide a basis for artificial planting in the future. Elymus nutans, Poa crymophila, Agropyron cristatum, and Ceratoides latens are suitable forage varieties for artificial planting in Qinghai Province. We used the MaxEnt model to analyze the potential distribution of four natural pastures in Qinghai Province and the dominant environmental variables under the current climatic conditions. Our findings indicate that the MaxEnt model has high accuracy in predicting the suitable habitats of four natural pastures, E. nutans, P. crymophila, A. cristatum, and C. latens under the current climatic conditions. The geographical distribution patterns of E. nutans, P. crymophila, and A. cristatum are similar to a certain extent, and they are all concentrated in the eastern, southeastern and southern Qinghai Province, while C. latens is mainly distributed in the northeastern and southern margins of the Qaidam Basin and the southern part of the Qinghai Lake Basin. The environmental variables affecting the suitable range of the four kinds of natural pastures in Qinghai Province were similar to some extent, with some differences. Downward shortwave surface flux, altitude, and near-surface air temperature have a greater impact on E. nutans, P. crymophila, A. cristatum, while the environmental variables that have a greater impact on C. latens are precipitation, altitude, and near-surface temperature. This study is substantial for understanding the geographical distribution pattern and habitat conditions of various natural pastures in Qinghai Province, to provide a reference for the development of artificial forage grass planting.