Abstract: [Objective]In this study, we have applied species distribution modeling (SDM) to model the potential distributions of 56 species of wild fruit trees, in order to provide baseline data for effective conservation and management of Xinjiang wild fruit tree resources.[Method] Distribution records of wild fruit trees were obtained from the Herbarium and 13 environmental variables were chosen to define the ecological niche for these sample species. The software package Maxen was employed to model species distributions. After overlapping these 56 distributions, the pattern map of species richness for Xinjiang's wild fruit trees was obtained.[Result]Results showed that wild fruit trees had a wide range of potential distributions in Xinjiang, accounting for 54.5% of the total land area. The species richness was divided into 4 levels:1-4, 5-14, 15-24, and 25-38. However, the areas with high species richness were narrow, and mostly distributed around Ili Valley in western Tianshan Mountains, from Barluk Mountains to Tarbagatai Mountains, and western Altai Mountains. Correlation coefficients between species richness and 13 environmental variables showed that 2 rainfall factors (precipitations respectively of the wettest and the driest seasons), 1 temperature factor (mean diurnal range) and 1 soil factor (carbon density) were closely correlated with the distribution pattern of the wild fruit tree resources (R²>0.35), indicating significant impacts of the four factors on richness and distribution pattern of the wild fruit trees in Xinjiang.[Conclusion] In terms of the level of species richness and species conservation, it is recommended that the Ili Valley in western Tianshan Mountains, the range from Barluk Mountains to Tarbagatai Mountains and the western Altai Mountains should be given priority for conservation.

Key words: wild fruit trees, species richness, distribution pattern, species distribution modeling, environmental factors, Xinjiang