Reforestation provides a foraging habitat for brown bears by increasing 1 cicada density in the Shiretoko World Heritage site

10 Reforestation, which converts abandoned farmland back into forestland by planting 11 woody species, can provide habitat for wildlife, including the brown bear ( Ursus arctos 12 Linnaeus, 1758). In the Shiretoko World Heritage site, northern Japan, where brown bears 13 occur at high density, conifers have been planted since the 1970s to reforest abandoned 14 farmland. In this area, brown bears were first observed digging for cicada nymphs ( Lyristes 15 bihamatus Motschulsky, 1861) from 2000. Our preliminary observations suggested the 16 emergence of digging behavior might be associated with reforestation. We examined 17 whether reforestation provided a foraging habitat for brown bears. We found that digging 18 occurred only within the restored conifer forests, but not within the natural forest. The 19 densities of cicada nymphs in the restored forests were higher than in the natural forest. 20 These results indicate that the reforestation of abandoned farmland provides a foraging 21 habitat for brown bears by increasing the availability of cicada nymphs in the Shiretoko