GIS as a means to identify the environmental conditions of Wild boar diurnal resting places

Abstract

A sample of 1529 resting places of Wild boar, recorded in four areas in southern France, was analysed as regards habitat selection. Two areas were heavily forested and showed a medium or high density of Wild boar. The landscape in the two other areas was composed of cultivated fields with small scattered woods. Each resting place, located by radio-tracking, was assigned a one-hectare cell. A Geographic Information System was set up to include descriptive information on each cell in the study areas (5,000 to 19,000 hectares each). Selection of habitat by resting wild boars was analysed by comparing the frequency of selected habitats with their frequency in the corresponding study area. There is an overall preference for the most secure habitat class (wood with dense low stratum). Results also show that the selection is broader in the open landscape than in the forested landscape. In the open landscape the preference is extended to “incomplete” mixtures of the two strata.