Analysis on Habitat Characteristics of the Korean Bats (Chiroptera) Using Geographic Information System (GIS)

Abstract

We obtained a total of 36 GPS coordinates of the seven bat species of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Myotis ikonnikovi, M. nattereri, M. petax, Murina ussuriensis, Plecotus auritus, and Pipistrellus abramus. Characteristics of forests (forest type, age class, DBH class and crown density), terrain (aspect, slope and distance from mountain stream) and disturbance factors (distance from human residential areas and distance from cultivated areas) that bats have used as their habitats were revealed from the GIS analysis based on GPS coordinates of the 36 positions that bats were found. The bats-preferred forest type is broad-leaf forests (43%) with the trees of the 2th (31%) and 5th (31%) age class, the trees of sapling (36%) and large DBH class (31%), and sparse crown density (67%). Bats prefer the slop direction of the east (39%), the gradient below 15 o (61%), the ranges within 200 m from the mountain streams (92%), the ranges within 200 m near roads (89%), the ranges of 200-400 m from human residential areas (28%), and the ranges within 200 m from cultivated areas (36%).