The tridimensional structure of vegetation influences many aspects of wildlife ecology. Several species are close to forest habitat, and depend on it for foraging, denning and sheltering from any sort of natural or anthropogenic threats.
The main goal of the project is to integrate the tridimensional structure of forest (i.e. stems density, tree height, canopy cover etc.) and dynamic forest succession into a habitat resources selection study by brown bears (Ursus arctos). We aim to model the dynamic succession of the forest simulating different future scenarios and evaluating how climate change and human forest management influence the resource selection of brown bears in the future. With his huge spatial requirements, brown bear constitutes an optimal focal species because it represents an authentic umbrella species for the conservation of the all other animals related on forest ecosystem. In scientific literature, forest dynamics and wildlife habitat selection are two research field rarely inter-connected, especially at landscape scale. On the contrary, it¿s becoming critical to assess conservation strategy understand how ecological succession change the forest tridimensional proprieties and shifting species composition.
This innovative approach can be applicable for wildlife linked to forest, such as ungulates species, producing a simulated version of the natural variability.
In scientific literature, forest dynamics and wildlife habitat selection are two research field rarely inter-connected, especially at landscape scale. On the contrary, many species depend on forest habitat and predicting how forest succession change its structure, seed productivity and species composition it's crucial to best assess conservation strategy.
For the first time, we join wildlife habitat suitability (i.e. brown bear as case study) with forest landscape dynamics accounting for both space and time. This approach provides a method for projecting a simulated version of the natural variability, a concept that is becoming more common in ecology and ecosystem management.
In addition, this framework design will be potentially applicable not only for brown bear, but for whatever animal species linked with habitat forest, such as ungulates (e.g. wild boar, red deer, roe deer etc.).