Potential habitat and productivity loss of Populus deltoides industrial forest plantations due to global warming

Abstract The future habitat and productivity of industrial forest plantations (IFPs) are facing large uncertainties due to global warming. As an important IFP species, Populus deltoides is widely used for afforestation worldwide, serving as a key model species to assess the impact of climate change on potentially suitable area and productivity. Here we first compiled a global productivity dataset of P. deltoides, and then utilized ecological niche models to explore its potential habitat suitability with relations to both soil and climate variables, and for the first time, related it to potential productivity of this species at the global scale. The predicted habitat suitability showed a significant positive relationship with productivity (p