抄録
With an objective of evaluating forest habitability for wildlife in terms of forest structure, wildlife abundance was observed using automated infrared sensor cameras while forest structure of the habitat was quantified with airborne laser profiling in three study areas of 400ha each set up around Mt. Ishizuchi-san, Mt. Myoujin-ga-mori, and Mt. Takanawa-san in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. Two parameters derived from airborne laser profiling, i.e. mean and standard deviation of standing timber stock in each study area, were used as structural indexes of forests, while the richness of fauna was quantified as the number of inhabitant species and their frequency of being captured by the automated camera. Of the four possible combinations of the forest and faunal parameters, only the one between the photographic capture frequency and standard deviation of standing timber stock revealed strong negative correlation. Thus it was reasoned that the variability in timber stock has resulted from altitude variability within a given study area which tends to be more pronounced in higher and more remote areas, leading to a conclusion that what is really correlated with wildlife abundance is the proximity to the human domain.
