Spruce monocultures of the Drahanská vrchovina Upland (Czech Republic) as the biotope of small terrestrial mammals (Rodentia, Soricomorpha)
2010
Josef Suchomel | Luboš Purchart | Jakub Urban
The community of small terrestrial mammals of spruce monocultures of the Drahanská vrchovina Upland was studied on small experimental plots, namely in spruce plantations aged 30 and 105 years and on comparative plots in a 40-year beech stand and in a 125-year mixed stand occurring apart in the middle of spruce stands. In total, 128 small mammals of five species were trapped in the period 2006–2008. There were the marked dominance and abundance of Apodemus flavicollis at all plots (D = 67.7–82.1%; rA = 1.0–1.6) with the exception of a young spruce stand where Myodes glareolus (D = 57.5%; rA = 1.28) dominated. The community diversity was low (H' = 0.6–1.0) and rather balanced E = 0.51–0.89) showing the highest diversity index in a mature spruce monoculture, which, through its age (105 years), made possible the occurrence of a herb layer. With plantings of Abies alba and Fagus sylvatica (age 8 years), it provided the highest diversity of sites. The mixed and beech stands showed the lowest diversity (H' = 0.6–0.8), which was also affected by the extreme dominance of Apodemus flavicollis (73–82%). These biotopes represented optimum sites for this mouse. Differences in diversity, equitability and relative abundance between particular species and sites were not significant (p > 0.05). In general, the studied spruce stands appear to be little suitable sites for small terrestrial mammals. The local broadleaved and mixed stands established within the spruce monoculture transformation to close-to nature forests enable only increasing the dominance of adaptable species living in neighbouring spruce stands.
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