The comparison of modelling techniques for selected Genus Vatica in Peninsular Malaysia

Dipterocarps are one of the main forests present in Peninsular Malaysia. The dipterocarps tree was the source of timber as the trees are used in the making of timber based products. This makes it vulnerable to habitat loss. Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) is widely used in conservation assessment because of its accuracy and simplicity. MAXENT software is used to make prediction of the species distribution. MAXENT requires locality data of the species and ecological variable which it will use to predict the possible distribution area of the species. The selected species studied for this study are Vatica hullettii, Vatica mangachapoi ssp. mangachapoi and Vatica odorata ssp. 0dorata.The ecological modeling will be compared with EOO and AOO. E00 and AOO are used by IUCN and E00 shows overestimation while AOO shows underestimation of the species distribution. Methods used to identify the conservation status of a species are done by comparison with status issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A specific action need to be taken to ensure the survival of the endangered species.