Seasonal changes in forest road use by mammals in a heavy snowfall area, north-eastern Japan: effects of management intensities

Forest road use by mammals can vary in response to both the management intensity of the forest roads and the seasonal changes in their environments. We investigated the effects of seasonal changes in heavy snowfall areas on road use by mammals in forest environments with different management intensities. The field survey was conducted in north-eastern Japan from August 2022 to July 2023. Using camera traps, we observed the frequency of occurrence of each species on forest roads, decommissioned roads, and forest interior sites. We employed a generalized linear mixed model to analyse the relationship between the occurrence events of each species and site types and seasons. Red foxes occurred significantly more frequently on forest roads than in forest interiors during all seasons. Raccoon dogs selectively used forest roads in spring and winter. However, Japanese martens, Japanese hares, and wild boar only occasionally occurred on forest roads. These findings suggest that selectivity in the use of forest roads varies among species, and selectivity for forest roads and decommissioned roads varies seasonally.