ANALYSIS OF THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CLEAR-CUTS SURROUNDINGNEWLY PLANTED SITES DAMAGED BY SIKA DEER (Cervus nippon) BROWSING

摘要

Damage to forestry caused by sika deer (Cervus nippon) poses a serious problem in the Kyushu district and other regions of Japan. Although this issue has been exacerbated by increases in deer populations, forestry activities are probably related to increased deer populations, particularly clear cutting. We examined the relationship between trends in the spatial and temporal occurrence of clear cuts and deer populations at a broad spatial scale. The timing and location of clear cutting were identified using multi-temporal remotely sensed data. We then analyzed the relation between the spatial distribution of newly planted sites damaged by browsing deer and the spatial pattern attributes of the clear-cut patches.