Habitat suitability of subpopulations of Adansonia digitata L. in West Africa: Implications for conservation and domestication

For an adaptive policy to be effective, it is crucial to divide species populations into subpopulations, especially for species with diverse environmental conditions. In this study, occurrence data of Adansonia digitata L., a multipurpose tree species, were collected from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility portal (1513), fieldwork (421), and other studies (195) throughout the West Africa scale. Principal Component Analysis was used to discriminate the sample into four subpopulations based on 19 bioclimatic variables, elevation, and soil data. Using a Stack Species Distribution Modelling (SSDM) approach, nine modeling algorithms were performed for each subpopulation and the global sample. The results showed that the distribution of subpopulations was latitudinally dependent, with niches differentiated and not overlapping. Environmental variables contributed differently according to the subpopulations. Overall, it was found that 47.63% of West Africa was unsuitable for the cultivation and conservation of the species, while 15.38% was highly suitable. Among the most suitable countries were Burkina Faso, Benin, Senegal, and Togo.