Exploring Efficient Buffer Placement for Mitigating Crop Damage by Wild Boars with an Agent-based Spatial Modeling of Foraging Behavior

Abstract

Crop damage caused by wildlife, such as wild boars, has increased throughout Japan and poses a serious threat to agricultural sustainability and the local economy in many rural areas. We employed an agent-based spatial modeling approach to examine the efficiency of buffer placement for mitigating crop damage by wild boars. The model simulates the behavior of wild boars that forage and compete with each other for space. Although the movement of wild boars is governed by simple rules that mimic competition for food resources, our model exhibits complex behaviors affecting the spread of boar-inflicted damage. The optimal thickness of a buffer zone depends on a balance between losses from crop damage and management costs. In addition, a gap of unmanaged cells in the buffer zone significantly weakens the effect of damage mitigation by the buffer zone.