MaxEnt-Based Potential Distribution Mapping and Range Shift under Future Climatic Scenarios for an Alpine Bamboo Thamnocalamus spathiflorus in Northwestern Himalayas

Sl. No.

Comments

Explanation

I.

Thamnocalamus spathiflorus is an important native alpine bamboo in Himalayas. The results of present study based on Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model, is of important signification for germplasm conservation and management of this bamboo species. Overall, the manuscript is well organized and English is good. However, some issues are still needed to clarify in the manuscript.

ü Authors are highly thankful to the reviewer for valuable comments and positive criticism.

ü Yes, we agreed that some issues still need to be clarified for the betterment of the journal viewership and readership.

1.

About genus name of Thamanocalamus, according to Ohrnberger D. (1999. The Bamboos of the World: Annotated Nomenclature and Literature of the Species and the Higher and Lower Taxa. Elsevier, Amsterdam), the correct name is Thamnocalamus. And the abbreviation of “Thamnocalamus spathiflorus” is “Th. spathiflorus”.

ü Yes, we agreed with the comment. In the entire manuscript “Thamnocalamus spathiflorus” is abbreviated as “Th. spathiflorus”.

2.

The sentence of Lines 59-63 needs to be rewritten. And “Tibet” should be written as “Tibet of China”.

ü The sentence has been reframed.

ü “Tibet” is now written as “Tibet of China”.

3.

The sentence of Lines 68-69 needs a literature to support.

ü Yes, we cited proper reference for the sentence.

Banik RL (2016) Silviculture of South Asian Priority Bamboos.

Springer, Singapore

4.

The categories of distribution are confused (Lines 114-116). Because the rhizome of Th. Spathiflorus is sympodium, such as “(i) reduced (5-10 culms per 100 m)”, is it “ (i) reduced (5-10 clumps per 100 m2)”? Additionally, the units of sampling area or line are inconsistent, three numbers exist here (100m, 200m, 500m); and numbers are overlapped, such 5-10, 10-20.

ü Thank you for pointing out the typographic error in sampling area. During field survey, sites were classified into categories based on the number of clumps in a linear transect of 100 m. So, the sampling unit was linear transect of 100 m for all the categories which was mistakably written as 100m, 200m, 500m for different categories.   

ü We have rectified the mistake, and revised sentence is clear to understand.

5.

In Section ‘Materials & Methods’, the detailed setups of software tools, such as AUC, Kappa coefficient (K), Normalized Mutual Information (NMI), True Skill Statistic (TSS), need to clarify.

ü Yes, agreed.

ü  The AUC value is the outcome of MaxEnt model (mentioned in the section 2.2. MaxEnt modelling, para. 2, lines: 3-5).

ü Whereas, other parameters have been mathematically calculated in MS Microsoft Excel derive based on values of the confusion matrix.

ü Detailed method of calculation is added to the manuscript text.

6.

The sentences of Lines 202-208 are better to be placed in Section ‘Materials & Methods’.

ü As suggested, lines have been appropriately placed in Section ‘Materials & Methods’.

7.

The first paragraph of page 16, the example of ‘The Recently, two Bamboo Partridges (Chinese and Taiwan) were studied through genetic database and ENM tools, suggested that habitats were highly conserved and shared an overlapping distribution range in the evolutionary time period’, the related literature need to point out here.

ü The text has been appropriately supported.

Reference

40. Wang, P.; Yeh, C.; Chang, J.; Yao, H.; Fu, Y.; Yao, C.; Wang, X.; Li, S.; Zhang, Z. Multilocus Phylogeography and Ecological Niche Modeling Suggest Speciation with Gene Flow between the Two Bamboo Partridges. Avian Res. 2021, 12, 17, doi:10.1186/s40657-021-00252-x.

8.

The last sentence of the Conclusion needs to be rewritten.

ü We have reframed sentence as “Lastly, future climate change scenarios indicated a habitat shrinkage and range shift (eastern by northward) in the investigated bamboo species.”

Sl. No.

Comments

Explanation

1.

This research focuses on the temperate woody bamboo species Thamanocalamus spathiflorus, which is ecologically and socio-economically significant in the northwestern Himalayas. By using Ecological Niche Modelling with the MaxEnt algorithm, researchers explored the current and future potential distribution of this species under various climate scenarios and identified key bioclimatic variables influencing habitat suitability, including precipitation seasonality, annual temperature range, and altitude. The results revealed a significant habitat range, extending from Chamba to Pithoragarh and into Nepal. In this context, I am absolutely excited to learn from this article that projections under the pessimist scenario for 2050 and 2070 indicated a potential eastern shift in the species' range with a slight decline in habitat area.

ü  Yes, the manuscript mentions special focus on high mountain bamboo species Thamanocalamus spathiflorus, which on verge of climatic change predictor tends to decline.

ü  We believe that manuscript tend to attract broader researcher and climatic experts in the verge of habitat shift of this alpine bamboo species.

2.

Globally, the article is well-structured and provides a comprehensive analysis of Thamanocalamus spathiflorus's distribution under current and future climate scenarios. However, I have some suggestions to further improve the manuscript:

ü Thank you for positive comment and deliberation.

ü All the comments are addressed comprehensively and details are mentioned below.

3.

The authors of the article use elements and methods that have subsequently been updated (especially in terms of methodology). For example, they refer to: i- the IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5); ii- RCP; and iii- the Worldclim1.4 database; whereas a new version of the Worldclim2 data (Fick and Hijmans, 2017) is available and the 6th report (AR6) is already being published in 2021; in which the IPCC experts recommend using SSP scenarios instead of RCP.

(Fick, S.E. and R.J. Hijmans, 2017. WorldClim 2: new 1 km spatial resolution climate surfaces for global land areas. International Journal of Climatology 37 (12): 4302-4315.)

To enrich this study, it would have been more interesting to use data from the CMIP6 future climate projections (https://www.worldclim.org/data/cmip6/cmip6_clim30s.html). where downscaling and calibration (bias correction) were carried out using WorldClim v2.1 as the reference climate. The shared socio-economic scenarios (SSP) incorporate socio-economic dimensions, which would make it possible to better understand not only the direct climatic impacts on the distribution of T. spathiflorus, but also the potential socio-economic influences on habitat management and conservation strategies.

ü Thanks to the reviewer for implicate suggestions.

ü Yes, the Worldclim 2.0 database is the new version, which has been rectified (from 1.4, typo error) in the MS.

ü Thank you for suggesting CMIP6 for the future climatic scenario, which improve future habitat suitability and potential distribution for various scenarios such as 2021–2040 and 2061–2080.

ü Yes, we agreed that the shared socio-economic scenarios (SSP) incorporate broader understanding of the direct climatic impacts on the future potential distribution of T. spathiflorus.

ü This investigation employed the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC6)- shared socio-economics pathways (SSP245) for cross-validation purposes. The model was used to determine the habitat suitability and potential distribution of Th. spathiflorus in relation to the current distribution and RCP 8.5 future scenarios for the years 2021–2040 and 2061–2080, respectively. The habitat distribution decreased between 2030 and 2070.

4.

The result section needs to be better presented and summarized.

ü Yes, we agreed with the comments.

ü As suggested, we revised the text and sentences at various places.

5.

In the discussion section:

5.1

The different sections should be more interconnected, with smoother transitions to maintain a logical flow.

ü  

ü Agreed. Done as suggested.

ü The manuscript text revised to maintain general research flow and interconnections.

5.2

Present and discuss the limitations of the study.

ü Yes, we have incorporated these details in the text.

ü We removed the redundant sentences.

ü The overall clarity and focus of the manuscript have been improved.

5.3

Present and discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the results

ü Yes, we provide the theoretical and practical implications of the results for broader readership of the global audiences.

5.4

References

Bibliographical references must be standardized, (for example references number 23, 24 and 53)

ü We have streamlined the reference section and text in-between to give clear numbering of references.

5.5

A remark concerning the scientific name of the species studied in this article (in the title and in the text). Thamnocalamus spathiflorus instead of Thamanocalamus spathiflorus.

ü Yes, we have corrected the typographic mistake in the species scientific name. The correct spelling is Thamnocalamus spathiflorus’ instead of ‘Thamanocalamus spathiflorus’.