TY - JOUR

T1 - Potential of small-scale and structurally diverse short-rotation coppice as habitat for large and medium-sized mammals

AU - Zitzmann, Felix

AU - Reich, Michael

AU - Schaarschmidt, Frank

N1 - Funding Information: Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This work was supported by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, ML), Grant No. 105.2–3234/1–13-4. Funding Information: We are grateful to the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection for the financial support of this study. We are also grateful to L. von Falkenhayn for proofreading the English manuscript and to M. Rode for his helpful comments on a former version of the manuscript. We thank M. Senne and M. Z?chner for their assistance in field work. The two anonymous reviewers and the Managing Editor M?ria Kazim?rov? made valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This work was supported by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, ML), Grant No. 105.2?3234/1?13-4. The raw-datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

PY - 2021/8

Y1 - 2021/8

N2 - We surveyed occurrence and activity of large and medium-sized mammals on three experimental short-rotation coppice (SRC) and three afforestations by camera trapping. Both habitat types were surveyed simultaneously in spring. Additional wintertime surveys were performed on the SRC to consider seasonal aspects of habitat utilisation. In spring, SRC and afforestations were predominantly used by the same species. European hare (Lepus europaeus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were the most active species across all sites. Additionally, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) showed intense activity on one SRC site. Activity of carnivorous and omnivorous species was comparatively low in both habitat types, but even lower on the SRC. The only forest-associated species (European badger Meles meles), detected on all afforestations, was absent from the SRC. In winter, the surveyed SRC were used by the same species as in spring. Most species showed similar activity on the SRC in both seasons. We conclude that small-scale and structurally diverse SRC provide suitable habitat, in different seasons, especially for herbivorous mammals associated with farmland and forest-ecotones rather than forest species. The extent to which our results can be generalised to large-scale commercial SRC is unclear. However, the results indicate that SRC can be managed in a manner compatible with wildlife and may then have a habitat function for mammals comparable to that of young afforestations. Creation of within-plantation heterogeneity can be a suitable measure to improve habitat quality and should, therefore, be considered in the design and management of SRC.

AB - We surveyed occurrence and activity of large and medium-sized mammals on three experimental short-rotation coppice (SRC) and three afforestations by camera trapping. Both habitat types were surveyed simultaneously in spring. Additional wintertime surveys were performed on the SRC to consider seasonal aspects of habitat utilisation. In spring, SRC and afforestations were predominantly used by the same species. European hare (Lepus europaeus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were the most active species across all sites. Additionally, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) showed intense activity on one SRC site. Activity of carnivorous and omnivorous species was comparatively low in both habitat types, but even lower on the SRC. The only forest-associated species (European badger Meles meles), detected on all afforestations, was absent from the SRC. In winter, the surveyed SRC were used by the same species as in spring. Most species showed similar activity on the SRC in both seasons. We conclude that small-scale and structurally diverse SRC provide suitable habitat, in different seasons, especially for herbivorous mammals associated with farmland and forest-ecotones rather than forest species. The extent to which our results can be generalised to large-scale commercial SRC is unclear. However, the results indicate that SRC can be managed in a manner compatible with wildlife and may then have a habitat function for mammals comparable to that of young afforestations. Creation of within-plantation heterogeneity can be a suitable measure to improve habitat quality and should, therefore, be considered in the design and management of SRC.

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Bioenergy

KW - Camera trapping

KW - Game

KW - Perennial woody biomass crops

KW - Wildlife

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101822363&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s11756-021-00686-0

DO - 10.1007/s11756-021-00686-0

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85101822363

VL - 76

SP - 2195

EP - 2206

JO - BIOLOGIA

JF - BIOLOGIA

SN - 0006-3088

IS - 8

ER -