HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELING FOR CONSERVATION OF HABENARIA DIPHYLLA (NIMMO) DALZELL: MEDICINAL ORCHID IN WESTERN GHATS OF KERALA, INDIA UNDER DIFFERENT CLIMATIC SCENARIOS

Habenaria diphylla (Nimmo) Dalzell, is a tuberous geophytic orchid that thrives in wet tropical biomes and grassy hill slopes.Presently, a Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) Modelling approach was used to estimate the potential distribution of Habenaria diphylla in Kerala, India, considering both present and future climatic scenarios.The MaxEnt model predicted habitat suitability for H. diphylla with an area of approximately 1344 km, showing high probability zones concentrated in the Northern parts of Kerala and it was revealed that Bio17 (precipitation of driest quarter), Bio12 (annual precipitation), solar radiation (March), and Topographic Position Index (TPI) were the most significant predictor variables influencing distribution of H. diphylla.Habitat suitability for H. diphylla was projected under future climate scenarios (2020-2100) using Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) 126, 245, 370, and 585.Under SSP370 and SSP585, highly suitable areas for H. diphylla decreased by 73.2% and 0.35% respectively by 2080-2100, due probably to an increase in temperature and declining rainfall.