| Summary: | Climate change is heavily altering plant distributions, posing significant challenges to conventional agricultural practices and ecological balance. Meanwhile, mixed species planting emerges as a potent strategy to enhance agricultural resilience, counteract climate change, preserve ecological balance, and provide a solution to economic instability. The MaxEnt model was used to predict the suitable area of <i>Citrus reticulata</i> under five climate scenarios and to explore affecting environmental factors. <i>Litchi chinensis</i>, <i>Punica granatum</i>, and <i>Lycium chinense</i> were selected as mixed species to analyze the spatial distribution and centroid migration trend of potentially suitable areas. The research results show the following: (1) The primary environmental factors impacting <i>C. reticulata</i> distribution are annual precipitation (1000–4000 mm), precipitation of driest quarter over 100 mm, and mean temperature of coldest quarter (12–28 °C). Crucially, the mixed species exhibited similar environmental sensitivities, indicating mutual mixing suitability. (2) Currently, the <i>C. reticulata</i> suitable area is of 240.21 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>, primarily in South, East, Central, and Southwest China, with potential for expansion to 265.41 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup> under the 2090s SSP1-2.6 scenario. (3) The geometric center of the moderately-to-highly suitable areas for <i>C. reticulata</i> is located in Hunan Province. Future scenarios show the <i>C. reticulata’s</i> centroid migrating northwest, with distances of less than 110 km. Mixed planting trends toward higher latitudes, fluctuating from 6 km to 210 km. (4) Mixed planting area planning: <i>C. reticulata</i> and <i>L. chinensis</i> are suitable for mixed planting in South China. <i>C. reticulata</i> and <i>P. granatum</i>, <i>C. reticulata</i> and <i>L. chinense</i> are suitable for mixed planting in most areas of Central, East, Southwest, and South China. This research presents a new perspective on using mixed design principles for ecological adaptation and the sustainable mixed planting of <i>C. reticulata</i>, in response to China’s changing climate. This approach is expected to help the economic fruit tree industry enhance ecological resilience and economic stability in the face of future climate change challenges.
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