HABITAT SUITABILITY ANALYSIS OF NEMORHAEDUS GORAL - A REMOTE-SENSING AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION-SYSTEM APPROACH

With the decreasing size of habitat and increasing fragmentation, it has become essential to develop species-specific habitat suitability maps, Such an approach for endangered species is a priority task for India's conservation programme. The mountain goat (goral) is an endangered species. The viable population of goral (Nemorhaedus goral) on Siwalik mountain is now confined to only Rajaji National Park, Uttar Pradesh. The goral habitat is restricted to specific land attributes, viz. landcover, slope, water availability and human habitation. Human settlements, biotic pressure (grazing and lopping) and erosional subsidence on hills have threatened goral habitat. The study is an attempt to model habitat suitability using spatial landscape patterns (interspersion and juxtaposition) and specific habitat requirements (restrictive factors). The approach has been tested in the part of Rajaji National Park for goral.