KEANEKARAGAMAN JENIS REPTILIA BERDASARKAN ELEVASI DI KAWASAN AGROFORESTRI KPH MALANG, JAWA TIMUR

Reptiles can detect habitat damage and become natural bioindicators. Reptiles have the role of predator and prey. Agroforestry is a system that provides suitable habitat for reptiles. And there is still no information regarding the presence of reptiles in agroforestry areas based on their elevation, so this prompted the author to conduct research on the presence of reptiles in agroforestry areas. The observation method uses VES (visual encounter survey), observations are carried out at 07.00 – 09.00 WIB with a focus on locations exposed to sunlight with the aim of finding reptiles that are sunbathing and looking for food for diurnal reptiles, while nocturnal reptiles are observed at 20.00 – 23.00 WIB (Tajalli et al., 2021). The agroforestry pattern in the highlands is more garden pattern 56%, in the middle plains mixed gardens 46% as well as in the lowlands mixed gardens with a value of 58%. The results obtained are that reptile diversity in the lowlands is 1,643, the midlands is 1,372, and the highlands 1,237. With species evenness of 0.34, 0.32, and 0.31 respectively. Meanwhile, the similarity in types is between highland - medium 56%, highland - lowland 27%, and medium - lowland 50%. Level of vegetation and elevation are ecological factors that influence the presence of reptiles in the Malang KPH agroforestry area.