Influence of forest fragmentation on the winter abundance of mammals in Mt. Chirisan National Park, South Korea

Abstract

We examined the influence of both local habitat and landscape variables on mammal species abundance in a forest fragmented by road construction and in continuous forest in 8 study sites in Mt. Chirisan National Park, South Korea, from 2001 to 2004. We recorded tracks of 8 species of mammals, Siberian weasels (Mustela sibirica), yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula), Bengal cats (Felis bengalensis), wild boars (Sus scrofa), water deer (Hydropotes inermis), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), Korean hares (Lepus coreanus), and red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), on the snow on 8 2-km transects in our study areas. There were significant differences in density of snags, mean tree basal area, and in shrub coverage between the fragmented and unfragmented forest areas. We found significant differences in abundance index of tracks between the fragmented and unfragmented areas for 5 mammal species; the others had even distributions. Of the 8 mammal species analyzed, 5 species related to landscape and local vegetation variables in a stepwise approach with repeated measures. Landscape variables are significant predictors of abundance for many mammal species. Forest managers should consider multiple measures of forest fragmentation sensitivity when making forest management decisions.