The coniferous shrub Oliver’s plum yew (Cephalotaxus oliveri) is endemic to southern China with potential medicinal use for cancer treatment and ecological value in sustaining China’s threatened subtropical forest ecosystems. Comprehensive understanding of the current spatial patterns of this vulnerable species vis-à-vis climatic conditions is crucial for its sustained economic use and conservation. Based on 100 reliable occurrence records and nine environmental variables, MaxEnt and QGIS programs were used to predict the potential geographical distribution of C. oliveri in China. Combined with percentage contribution and permutation importance, the jackknife statistical method was used to test and evaluate pertinent factors restricting the potential distribution of C. oliveri. The response curves of critical bioclimatic factors were employed to determine the potential species range. The current core potential distribution areas were concentrated in China’s central and south-west regions. Temperature was identified as the crucial determinant of species distribution patterns, particularly the mean temperature of the coldest quarter. Precipitation was a necessary but not critical secondary factor. These findings should inform the ex situ conservation and cultivation of C. oliveri in China and its introduction to other parts of the world for similar purposes.

The current research investigated the present and future projected distribution of rice (Oryza sativa L.) based on climatic suitability under three representative concentration pathways (RCPs) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modelling. The MaxEnt models predict that rice distribution in Bhutan will undergo major changes in terms of spatial range shift of varying magnitudes by 2060. Under the anthropogenic radiative forcing of RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, ecological space of rice is predicted to change between 1 and 43%. Major changes are likely to take place in major rice-growing ecological zones of the country. This is likely to have a negative impact on the livelihood and food security of the people as crop production might start declining due to unfavourable climatic factors. Therefore, the findings of this study could prove beneficial for forecasting focus sites requiring interventions, including future climate research, planning, policy formulation and conservation of natural resources.