A habitat model for brown bear conservation and land use planning in the central Apennines |
| |
Authors: | Mario Posillico Alberto Meriggi Sandro Lovari |
| |
Institution: | a Gestione ex Azienda di Stato Foreste Demaniali, 67031 Castel di Sangro (AQ), Italy b Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy c Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Sezione di Ecologia Comportamentale, Etologia e Gestione della Fauna, Università di Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy d Parco Naturale Regionale Monti Simbruini, 00020 Jenne (RM), Italy |
| |
Abstract: | We investigated the brown bear habitat suitability in an 8000 km2 study area encompassing Abruzzo, Latium, and Molise regions in central-southern Italy. Based on long-term field surveys and published records, we classified bear habitat as occupied or unoccupied in 92 out of 320 sample squares (5 × 5 km). For each sample square 36 habitat variables were measured from topographic maps and Corine land-cover III level digital maps. The influence of habitat features on bear presence was investigated by multivariate and one-way analyses of variance and by logistic regression analysis. The logistic model correctly classified 95.5% of sample squares of bear presence and 93.8% of those where bears were absent. Average altitude, deciduous woodlands and ecotone length, showed a positive relationship with bear presence, whereas vineyard-olive groves and shrublands were negatively correlated with bear presence. No specific land management guidelines or strategies exist for bear conservation in central Italy, based on knowledge of habitat-population relationships. The landscape scale habitat model we developed could be useful to predict bear occurrence, to identify critical areas for a brown bear conservation strategy, and to enhance the arrangement of the protected areas network for the conservation of this species. |
| |
Keywords: | Ursus arctos Distribution Habitat modelling Management Central Italy |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|