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Integrated geographical and ecological analysis reveals environmental drivers of Gardenia jasminoides distribution and chemical variation

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Abstract

Gardenia jasminoides, a widely distributed resource rich in Crocin, has generated substantial market demand due to its potential value as a saffron substitute. This necessitates the exploration of efficient and sustainable cultivation strategies to obtain target compounds for specific purposes. To enhance cultivation efficiency and secure supply chains, we integrated MaxEnt modeling, spatial interpolation, and geodetector analysis. This framework aimed to predict suitable habitats for G. jasminoides across China, map spatial variation in bioactive compounds including Crocin, Gardenia Yellow, and Geniposide, and identify environmental drivers influencing their distribution. MaxEnt achieved high predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.960), identifying Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Guangdong as key high-suitability regions. Precipitation of the driest month and human population density emerged as dominant factors shaping species distribution. Spatial gradients revealed that Crocin and Gardenia Yellow decrease from southwest to northeast, whereas Geniposide exhibits latitudinal differentiation characterized by higher concentrations in northern regions. Geodetector analysis highlighted vegetation type as the primary driver of compound variation, with q values of 0.618 for Crocin, 0.606 for Gardenia Yellow, and 0.639 for Geniposide. These results indicate that the accumulation of target compounds is strictly modulated by ecological niches, where specific vegetation types drive metabolic differentiation through microclimate regulation and interspecific competition. Based on these findings, we advocate for an industry-oriented divergent cultivation strategy. Southwestern China should be prioritized for Crocin-rich germplasm to support the natural pigment industry, whereas northern regions are designated as premium zones for pharmaceutical-grade Geniposide sourcing. Furthermore, recognizing vegetation type as a critical driver facilitates the implementation of targeted habitat management techniques. These findings provide a direct guide for designating priority cultivation zones and optimizing harvest timing to maximize the yield of target compounds for specific industrial uses.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank all the scholars and farmers who have helped us during the sample collection process. We would like to express our gratitude to all previous researchers who helped and references for this study.

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82274052), CACMS Innovation Fund (No.CI2023E002, CI2024E003), Special Project on Survey of Scientific and Technological Basic Resources (No. 2022FY101000), National Key R&D Program: Intergovernmental Cooperation in International Science and Technology Innovation (No. 2022YFE0119300).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China

    Mingxu Zhang, Cong Zhou, Suhua Huang, Hui Wang, Tingting Shi, Meng Li, Zhixian Jing & Xiaobo Zhang

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  1. Mingxu Zhang
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  2. Cong Zhou
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  3. Suhua Huang
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  4. Hui Wang
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  6. Meng Li
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  8. Xiaobo Zhang
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Contributions

M.Z.: Writing – original draft, Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Data curation, Writing – review & editing; C.Z.: Writing – original draft, Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Data curation, Writing – review & editing; S.H.: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing; H.W.: Writing-review and editing, Methodology; T.S.: Writing – review & editing, Data curation; Z.J.: Writing – review & editing, Data curation; M.L.: Writing – review & editing; X.Z.: Writing – review & editing, Conceptualization, Methodology.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to
Xiaobo Zhang.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics

Information on the voucher specimens, including the deposition location, deposition number, and specimen identifier, is provided in Additional Table 1. We confirm that all research involving field studies and the collection of Gardenia jasminoides was conducted in strict compliance with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines and legislation. Given the Least Concern status of Gardenia jasminoides and that collection occurred outside of protected areas, specific collection licenses were not required; all collection adhered strictly to local regulations. Furthermore, we adhere to the principles outlined in the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. We note that Gardenia jasminoides was most recently assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2023 and is listed as Least Concern. This classification is consistent with its national assessment in China, where the species is also categorized as Least Concern.

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Zhang, M., Zhou, C., Huang, S. et al. Integrated geographical and ecological analysis reveals environmental drivers of Gardenia jasminoides distribution and chemical variation.
Sci Rep (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-32876-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-32876-0

Keywords


  • Gardenia jasminoides
  • Suitable distribution
  • Spatial differentiation
  • Quality variation
  • Environmental drivers

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