Pragya Sourabh^1,, Ritu Patel¹, Vivek Singh¹

Acacia catechu, commonly known as Khair, is a multipurpose tree with high social, economic and ecological value. It has been exploited commercially in tannin and Katha industry for decades. Besides its commercial importance, it is equally significant for the people particularly rural communities living in the vicinity of catechu forests, since these people are dependent on this plant to fulfill their day to day need of fuel, fodder, building material and others. Due to their high commercial and social value, Khair forests are susceptible to a high degree of anthropogenic pressure, especially illicit logging. Despite its vast ecological and socio-economic significance, there is a lack of information on its suitable habitat distribution range. Therefore, the present study was carried out to predict the current and future suitable distribution of A. catechu in India using Maxent species distribution model. Output of maxent model reveal that the suitable habitat for distribution is Middle, South west and Northern part of India. Future prediction model for 2050 showed decrease of habitat area. The strongest predictors for the distribution of A. catechu were precipitation of wettest month, precipitation seasonality and max temperature of warmest month. The probability of presence of A. catechu increased with an increase in precipitation of wettest month.

Acacia catechu, Maxent, habitat distribution