Abstract

Using a geographic information system (GIS), we constructed a geographical database based on the outcome of a field survey for the habitat use of sika deer (Cervus Nippon) in the Tanzawa Mountains, Kanagawa, Japan. Then we analyzed the range of deer population, the core habitat use and seasonal food conditions in the area. The effectiveness and the areas needing improvement of the GIS application in managing adaptively natural resources at the landscape perspective are also discussed. Although the construction of geographical database took more than 300 hours, there were obvious advantages in terms of preciseness and time saving on data processing and we succeeded in clarifying the change of the range, the spatial distribution of habitat use and seasonal habitat condition. For the application to adaptive management, we indicated the usefulness of GIS on each stage of data collection and storage, planning and project implementation. Further improvement are required for practical application including user-interface and linkage with remote sensing.