Development of habitat mapping technology using spatial information

The purpose of this study was to create leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) habitat potential maps of South Korea using spatial information. To create maps, we gathered various environmental factors potentially affecting the species’ distribution from a spatial database: elevation, slope, land cover and so on. We analyzed the spatial relationships between the distribution of the leopard cats and the environmental factors using a frequency ratio model. Among the total number of known leopard cat locations, we used 50% for mapping and the remaining 50% for model validation. Our models were relatively successful and showed a high level of accuracy during model validation with existing locations (frequency ratio model 82.15%). These maps can be used to manage and monitor the habitat of mammal species and top predators.