Multiple ecological factors acting at different spatial scales are responsible for abundance and distribution of plant species. Therefore, in order to conserve and manage various species, it is crucial to examine species relationships with these factors. This study is aimed to model current distribution and assess the various factors influencing distribution of Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D.Don) Soo, a medicinally important terrestrial orchid endemic to Himalaya. Further, the study also elucidates habitat characteristics and the influence of climatic and edaphic factors on its abundance. Current distribution was determined using MaxEnt and the environmental variables (climatic, topographic and landcover) responsible for its distribution were elucidated using ‘Jackknife test’. The climatic and edaphic factors affecting D. hatagirea population density were identified using ‘Distance Based-Redundancy Analysis’. Further, co-occurring species and habitat indicator species were also identified. The MaxEnt model results revealed that precipitation of coldest quarter (Bio19), topographic vector ruggedness measure (VRM), solar radiation, herbaceous vegetation, mean temperature of driest quarter (Bio9), annual mean temperature (Bio1) and mean diurnal range (Bio2) are the most important variables that determine distribution of D. hatagirea. Western Himalaya was found to be the most suitable region for its occurrence. We also found that D. hatagirea populations occurred only in marshy habitats limited by soil phosphorus, and its population density was favoured towards higher soil calcium content. Further, a total of 186 species co-occurred with D. hatagirea out of which 27 acted as habitat indicators. Our results could be important in adopting most appropriate management and conservation strategies by identification of suitable habitats based on niche characteristics. We conclude that assessment of multiple ecological factors involving climatic, topographic, edaphic and community structure is important to gain insights into the distribution and population dynamics of rare and threatened species.

在不同空间尺度上起作用的多种生态因素是造成植物物种丰富和分布的原因。因此，为了保护和管理各种物种，检查物种与这些因素的关系至关重要。这项研究旨在模拟当前分布并评估影响圆线虫分布的各种因素（D.Don）Soo，喜马拉雅特有的重要药用陆地兰花。此外，该研究还阐明了栖息地的特征以及气候和水生因子对其丰富度的影响。使用MaxEnt确定电流分布，并使用“杰克刀测试”（Jackknife test）阐明造成其分布的环境变量（气候，地形和土地覆盖）。影响D. hatagirea的气候和世界性因素使用“基于距离的冗余分析”来识别人口密度。此外，还确定了共生物种和生境指示物种。MaxEnt模型结果显示最冷季的降水（Bio19），地形矢量强度测量（VRM），太阳辐射，草本植被，最干旱季的平均温度（Bio9），年平均温度（Bio1）和平均日范围（Bio2）是决定D. hatagirea分布的最重要的变量。喜马拉雅山西部地区是最适合发生这种情况的地区。我们还发现D. hatagirea钙磷仅在受土壤磷限制的沼泽生境中发生，其人口密度倾向于提高土壤钙含量。此外，与褐毛线虫共存在186种，其中27种充当栖息地指示。通过基于生态位特征识别合适的栖息地，我们的结果对于采用最合适的管理和保护策略可能非常重要。我们得出结论，对涉及气候，地形，前卫和群落结构的多种生态因素进行评估对于了解稀有和受威胁物种的分布和种群动态具有重要意义。