Grid Cell Analysis using Species Diversity Index of Birds in the Northern Area of Yeongjong Island, Incheon, Korea

The grid cell analysis is used to select good sites as habitats at the region. The northern area of Yeongjong Island, Incheon has been disturbing by habitat loss due to human activities such as residential development, deforestation. In order to determine significant places as bird habitats and to select conservation areas at this island, the study area was divided into 70 grid cells( each grid) and then each grid was ranked by spatial analysis using the species diversity index. Fieldwork was carried out in Spring and Autumn of 2010. To examine grid cells which were ranked high in both seasons in common, we used the average ranking value, combined data from two seasons. This area consists of mainly agricultural areas and forests(more than 68%) among eight habitat types: the agricultural land, forest, coast, lake, meadow, stream, city and other things. A total of 110 species was recorded: 4,183 birds of 102 species in Spring and 3,326 birds of 58 species in Autumn. In other words, the number of individuals and species was higher in Spring than in Autumn. Species diversity index presented the highest value at M8 grid cell in Spring(3.380) and at A4 gird cell in Autumn(2.736). In 18 of 22 grid cells where the average ranking value was higher than 3, the forest was distributed and in 4 grid cells, the coast and wetland were widely distributed, in which theses were located apart from human-associated disturbances such as construction works for a leisure complex. Our results present a new estimate method not only to minimize loss of bird habitats but also to conserve important habitats when the large-scale development takes place at particular region.