THE APPLICATION OF SATELLITE REMOTE-SENSING AND SPATIAL PROXIMITY ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES TO OBSERVATIONS ON THE GRAZING OF OILSEED RAPE BY ROEDEER

In many areas of northern Europe rapeseed is the only botanical specie s for vegetable oil production. Rapeseed in many areas has become the most dominant breakcrop stabilizing rotations with a high proportion o f cereals. The area sown to the crop has expanded dramatically in the last 20 years, with the Scottish crop rising from less than 100 ha in 1980 to over 40 000 ha in the 1990s. During periods of severe winter w eather, and thus a reduction in the availability of foodstuffs, it has been suggested there is an increased risk of roe deer poisoning from oilseed rape. This is especially true where there is a high proportion of the crop grown in close proximity to roe deer woodland habitats. W hereas agricultural census data can provide satisfactory estimates of the total area of oilseed rape in say a given administrative parish, p recise spatial information which can be related to deer habitats is no t readily available. A technique is illustrated which combines convent ional feeding range analysis data, satellite remote sensing and spatia l proximity analysis techniques, in an effort to examine the potential magnitude of such poisoning within the Grampian Region.