Abstract: Habitat selection and use is a key issue in wildlife conservation and habitat restoration, especially in special ecosystems such as agroforestry ecotones. To understand the bedding habitat selection, the destruction of fraying on forest, and farmland habitat use of northeast sika deer (Cervus nippon hortulorum) in agroforestry ecotones, we investigated the habitat factors of sika deer bedding, fraying, and the farmland use intensity in the Xiandongshan National Nature Reserve of Heilongjiang Province. The results showed that sika deer preferred to rest in forests with tall trees and more open areas. For the selection of forest type of bedding habitat, they avoided the artificial Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) forest and poplar (Populus) forest, and randomly used other forests. The factors influencing the selection of bedding habitats were mainly vegetation type and spatial structure factors, followed by human disturbance and concealment factors. Their fraying habitats were mostly far away from disturbances and in secluded environments. For the selection of fraying tree species, sika deer preferred to larch (Larix gmelinii) and maple (Acer pictum), but avoided Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica), Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica), and birch (Betula platyphylla). The farmland utilization by sika deer had certain spatial characteristics. The farmlands located in the central area of the reserve were used most frequently due to the high accessibility, while the farmlands in the east and south parts had relatively lower utilization rate, and the fence had a certain barrier effect on sika deer. The main factor influencing the farmland use by sika deer was the presence of fences, followed by the distance from the forest. The crop type had the least influence on the utilization intensity. This study revealed the habitat selection and utilization of sika deer in agroforestry ecotones from the perspectives of bedding and fraying habitat selection and farmland habitat utilization. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the environmental adaptation of wildlife in ecotones, providing scientific evidence to further promote research on the mechanisms of coexistence between humans and wildlife.

Key words: bedding site, fraying behavior, human-wildlife conflict