3.4. Ecological niche modelling
3.4.1. Climatic variables
analogy
The initial run in Maxent with M. geocarpum without genetic
information showed that the most important environmental variables
contributing to the predictive model included temperature seasonality,
rainfall wettest month, rainfall driest quarter, Bulk density of soil in
kg / cubic-meter for 22.5 cm depth and
soil texture fraction of clay at
10 cm. Based on the percent contribution values, the selected climatic
variables were more or less important in the three distribution models
of Kersting’s groundnut (Fig 5a), its genetic Pop1 (Fig 5b) and Pop2
(Fig 5c). Precipitation during the driest quarter was the most
influential predictor for M. geocarpum and Pop2. Soil texture
fraction clay at 10 cm was the variable contributing mostly to Pop1
model whereas for the model of Pop2, it was the less important (0.3%).
In general, soil texture fraction sand at 10 cm presented the least
contribution values to the different models.