PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 13: Landscape Ecology / Geomorphology
Tuesday, August 9, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal

An exploratory study to develop a wildlife habitat suitability index model in Korea.

Rho, Paikho^*,,

ABSTRACT- With extensive socio-economic development and urban sprawl, many endemic species are in dramatic decline in Korea. The objective of this study was to explore the procedure to develop a wildlife habitat model to protect suitable habitats of the Korean wildlife. Four major steps toward building a wildlife habitat model were used in this study: (1) overview and designation process of protected area to preserve wildlife habitats, (2) review of management strategy for protecting wildlife species and their habitats, (3) introduction of habitat suitability index model, and (4) application of a case study to evaluate the preliminary habitat model. All procedures were integrated to develop GIS-based habitat models for Korean wildlife, with particular consideration for spatially-explicit habitat variables derived from the National Geographic Information System (NGIS) and the Environmental Information System (EIS). The spatial patterns of environmental variables (i.e., hydrology, soil, turbidity, and elevation) were delineated with NGIS and EIS, and the GIS-based habitat model was developed. Although the Korean government has conducted 3 nationwide surveys to identify population dynamics of wildlife species, only the National Survey of Natural Environment were used to construct a GIS dataset for wildlife species in Korea. Preliminary habitat models for mallard duck (winter visitor) were developed as case study to examine whether the developing procedures of the preliminary habitat model are realistic under the current situation. In data-poor situations, expert opinion and literature review were founded as effective approaches to identify life requisites and habitat variables of the Korean wildlife. The results show that quantification and evaluation of landscape structures are an important approach to develop a wildlife habitat model in Korea.

Key words: Korean wildlife, habitat suitability index model, mallard duck