Capability Analysis of Suitable Natural Habitat for Wild American Ginseng: A Sensitivity Analysis of Main Growing Factors

This article presents a sensitivity analysis of the main growing factors for wild American ginseng in North Carolina, USA. This study examines the influence and importance of ginseng's natural growing factors in the predictive models generated through the method of weighted linear combination by conducting a sensitivity analysis over the relative importance of growing factors. By identifying these factors, government agencies can more effectively plan law enforcement activities and streamline their preservation efforts to protect this valuable species. The results of our sensitivity analysis indicate that the shade-related factors and spatial factors play very important roles in predicting suitable areas for wild American ginseng to grow in nature in the context of North Carolina. This finding implies that the proper consideration of these factors substantially enhances model predictability and consistency of predictions with real-world observations.