Wintering Habitat Use Pattern of Red-Crowned Cranes in the Korean Demilitarized Zone

Abstract

The study was the first attempt to identify the habitat use pattern of red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis) around the demilitarized zone (DMZ) by overlapping coordinates with the land cover classification (LCC). Daily habitat use pattern was highly different (P = 0.000) between daytime (06:00–18:00) and nighttime (18:00–06:00). Cranes in Cheolwon used agricultural paddies more frequently in the daytime (P = 0.002), and forest areas at night and this indicated that cranes presumably use rice paddies for feeding and forests for resting, respectively. Cranes night time in Paju used wetlands more often than random expectation based on the available wetland surface area (P = 0.017). This indicated a different habitat use pattern between coastal (Paju) and inland (Cheolwon) areas. Securing agricultural paddies is important for providing crucial areas for feeding, and forests should be important for rest during the night time in Cheolwon, which support crane populations during their wintering migration in Korea.