Potential Ecological Distribution Mapping of <i>Terminalia anogeissiana</i> in India

Anandalakshmi Ravichand; Lalitha Suryanarayanan; Devamanikandan Perumal; Vijayaraghavan Arumugam; Thangamani Dhandapani; Fatima Shirin; Nanita Berry; Manish Kumar Vijay; Ravinamasivayam; Tresa Hamilton; Swapnendu Pattanaik; Suresh Kumarkrishnasami; Sathish Arumugam; Rajesh Chandran; Deeparaj Bala Sundaram; Mahalingam Lingam; Vineetha Manikandan Vijayamma

doi:10.36808/if/2026/v152i4/171086

Potential Ecological Distribution Mapping of Terminalia anogeissiana in India

Authors

Anandalakshmi Ravichand ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Lalitha Suryanarayanan ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Devamanikandan Perumal ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Vijayaraghavan Arumugam ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Thangamani Dhandapani ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Fatima Shirin ICFRE-Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
Nanita Berry ICFRE-Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
Manish Kumar Vijay ICFRE-Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
Ravinamasivayam ICFRE-Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Tresa Hamilton ICFRE-Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Swapnendu Pattanaik ICFRE-Institute of Forest Biodiversity, Hyderabad, Telangana
Suresh Kumarkrishnasami ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Sathish Arumugam ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Rajesh Chandran ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Deeparaj Bala Sundaram ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Mahalingam Lingam ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Vineetha Manikandan Vijayamma ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2026/v152i4/171086

Keywords:

Ecological niche modeling; MaxEnt; Habitat suitability; Conservation Terminalia anogeissiana.

Abstract

Survival of forestry species are facing threat especially due to climate change as evinced by rising temperatures and altered rainfall patterns resulting in varied distribution. The present study assessed the current and potential habitat suitability of Terminalia anogeissiana Gere & Boatwr. (syn. Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb. ex DC.) Wall. ex Guill. & Perr.), a data-deficient multipurpose tree species in India, using ecological niche modeling (ENM) with the MaxEnt algorithm. This species faces challenges including poor regeneration and over-exploitation for timber and fodder, with limited information on its population status and distribution. A total of 811 occurrence records from tropical dry and moist deciduous forests and adjacent non-forest landscapes were compiled and spatially filtered to 220 independent records, which were analyzed using eight selected bioclimatic variables. The model achieved a training AUC of 0.828, test AUC of 0.817, with performance metrics including Kappa (0.182), NMI (0.955), and TSS (0.376). Isothermality (Bio03) was identified as the dominant predictor (58.6% contribution; 42.2% permutation importance), followed by Precipitation of the Warmest Quarter (Bio18), as confirmed by jackknife analysis. Highly suitable habitats were predicted across several states and union territories, accounting for 7.75% of India's total area. The predicted potential distribution substantially exceeded the currently documented range in India, highlighting priority areas for targeted conservation and sustainable management.

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