Payame Noor University Experimental animal Biology 2322-2387 11 4 2023 05 22 Habitat suitability modeling of Persian leopard (Panthera pardus) ‎in Lorestan province, Iran Habitat suitability modeling of Persian leopard (Panthera pardus) ‎in Lorestan province, Iran 95 108 10136 10.30473/eab.2023.67107.1903 FA Mohammad Reza Ashrafzadeh Department of Environmental ‎Engineering, Faculty of Natural ‎Resources and Earth Sciences, ‎Shahrekord University, ‎Shahrekord, Iran Ali Asghar Naghipour Department of Environmental ‎Engineering, Faculty of Natural ‎Resources and Earth Sciences, ‎Shahrekord University, ‎Shahrekord, Iran Alireza Mohammadi Department of Environmental ‎Science and Engineering, Faculty ‎of Natural Resources, University ‎of Jiroft, Jiroft, Iran Maryam Haidarian Department of Rangeland ‎Managment, Faculty of Natural ‎Resources, Sari Agricultural ‎Sciences and Natural Resources ‎University, Sari, Iran Hadi Khoshnamvand Department of Biodiversity and ‎Ecosystem Management, ‎Environmental Sciences Research ‎Institute, Shahid Beheshti ‎University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2023 02 15 Lorestan province, as a predominantly mountainous region, covers important part of critical habitats of Persian leopard (<em>Panthera pardus</em>) in west of Iran. However, there is little information on geographical distribution of the leopard in this province. This study aims to identify suitable habitats of the Persian leopard in Lorestan province, using an ensemble model consisting of seven species distribution models. The ensemble model identified 6,185 km² (21.85%) of the study area as suitable habitat for the Persian leopard. Distance to conservation areas (30%), distance to village (29%), distance to farmlands (11%), annual precipitation (8%) and distance to forest (7%) made the highest contribution to the model performance. About 49% of the identified suitable habitat covered by conservation areas. Establishing more conservation areas in suitable habitats and re-evaluation of the network of conservation areas are crucial strategies to conserve endangered populations of the leopard. Many large carnivores, due to their large home ranges, depend on habitat patches outside protected areas and corridors between them. Thus, conserving the habitat patches and connectivity between them are crucial. Monitoring and surveillance of habitats, using effective conservation strategies, and promoting local community involvement are other important issues. Lorestan province, as a predominantly mountainous region, covers important part of critical habitats of Persian leopard (<em>Panthera pardus</em>) in west of Iran. However, there is little information on geographical distribution of the leopard in this province. This study aims to identify suitable habitats of the Persian leopard in Lorestan province, using an ensemble model consisting of seven species distribution models. The ensemble model identified 6,185 km² (21.85%) of the study area as suitable habitat for the Persian leopard. Distance to conservation areas (30%), distance to village (29%), distance to farmlands (11%), annual precipitation (8%) and distance to forest (7%) made the highest contribution to the model performance. About 49% of the identified suitable habitat covered by conservation areas. Establishing more conservation areas in suitable habitats and re-evaluation of the network of conservation areas are crucial strategies to conserve endangered populations of the leopard. Many large carnivores, due to their large home ranges, depend on habitat patches outside protected areas and corridors between them. Thus, conserving the habitat patches and connectivity between them are crucial. Monitoring and surveillance of habitats, using effective conservation strategies, and promoting local community involvement are other important issues. https://eab.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_10136_31d5592f38b496fb4076d29d6736eb10.pdf