Modelling the Coverage of Dipterocarp Trees in Central Visayas, Philippines

Abstract

With the rapid decline of dipterocarp coverage in the Philippines, efforts in restoration would benefit from having a suitability map that would indicate the suitable areas where different dipterocarp species could thrive. Another use of these maps would be for assessing whether particular locations should be considered as Protected Areas in which exploitation would be limited, if not completely prohibited. We obtained data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines, which consists of dipterocarp-related information gathered over localities in the country's Central Visayas region. Six climate data parameters were then chosen and obtained from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. We employed a maximum entropy-based niche modelling approach to generate a suitability map. The model that we produced obtained an area under the curve (AUC) score of 0.955 with minimum temperature being the variable with the highest contribution. The map produced indicates that dipterocarp trees are more likely to appear in the lower regions of Central Visayas.