PEMODELAN DISTRIBUSI TUMBUHAN OBAT SIKKAM (Bischofia javanica) DI KAB.SIMALUNGUN MENGGUNAKAN MODEL MAXENT

Abstract

Indonesia has a high biodiversity, including traditional medicinal plants that play an important role in local health and culture. However, overexploitation, deforestation, and climate change threaten the survival of these species. This study aims to model the spatial distribution of Sikkam (Bischofia javanica) in Simalungun Regency using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm. The analyzed data included field presence points as well as bioclimatic, topographic, edaphic, and land cover environmental variables. The evaluation results showed a high level of accuracy of the Sikkam model with AUC values of 0.889 (training) and 0.822 (testing). The area of suitable habitat for Sikkam growth is predicted to be 143,263 km2 (approximately 3.21%) and 2,752,404 km2 (62.74%) with low suitability. The dominant factors influencing the distribution of Sikkam plants are land cover (49.9%) and solar radiation (16.7%). These results confirm that the potential habitat of the Sikkam species is strongly influenced by a combination of factors, land cover, and solar radiation. These findings provide a scientific basis for the management and enhancement of potential habitat, sustainable ecosystem management, and the development of local medicinal plants in the Simalungun region.