As a new Chinese medicine resource, Moringa oleifera Lam. is widely used in botanical medicine. To avoid economic losses caused by blind expanded introduction and cultivation it is urgent to evaluate the spatial distribution of land resources suitable for Moringa oleifera Lam. In this study, 960 global distribution records of Moringa oleifera Lam. are collected to assess the spatial distribution of global environmental suitability of Moringa oleifera Lam. by using spatial information technology and a data-driven model of spatial co-variables of climate, soil, topography and solar radiation. The results show that the land resources suitable for the cultivation of Moringa oleifera Lam. are about 3615.96 million hm² in the world, which are mainly distributed in Southern North America, Eastern and Northern South America, Central Africa, Southeast Asia and Northern Oceania. This study provides a solid foundation for the cultivation partition and promotion program of Moringa oleifera Lam. and helps to alleviate the over-mining of moringa and solve the contradiction between supply and demand of Moringa oleifera Lam.

Moringa oleifera Lam.  /  spatial covariates  /  spatial information technology  /  data-driven model  /  environmental suitability