Evaluating the habitat of brown bears (Ursus arctos syriacus) using Ecological Niche Factor Analysis in Golestan National Park

Land use changes in recent years have led to the destruction, loss and fragmentation of natural habitats and, consequently, the reduction of global biodiversity. Meanwhile, large mammals have been endangered as a result of human activities, more than other species. The high nutritional requirements of meaty mammals have led to increased conflict between these species and humans that leads to their vulnerability in recent years. The brown bears population, as an umbrella species in the country, has been significantly reduced in recent years due to the destruction of habitats and unauthorized hunting. In order to modeling the habitat of this species ENFA method in a Biomapper software has been used. In this study, the presence points of species used as a dependent variable and 10 environmental variables used as an independent variables. So These layers were prepared and analyzed. Habitat suitability map which prepared in this study has showed that suitable habitat for Brown bears in Golestan National Park located in the slopes of more than 20% and altitude of 1400 meters above sea level, all the geographical and peripheral directions, mainly by covering herb shrubs include wild apple shrubs, wild pears and raspberries. Based on the results of marginalization, The Brown bears tends to live in central habitats. Also, the tolerance factor indicates that the Brown bears of a non-specialized species are within their range of habitat resources. The most important variables for determining the suitability of brown bears habitat is distance from rivers, springs and rangers sites.