Foraging by Roe Deer in Agricultural Areas and Impact on Arable Crops

Putman, R. J.

doi:10.2307/2403083

Cited by 51 publications

(43 citation statements)

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“…This result may have been partially influenced by the evaluation of available biovolume by eye and by the analytical technique of faecal samples (see above). However, fraction of browse well above the expected values were also found in a population of 'field' roe deer in France (Cibien et al 1995), and woodland resources were considered important for forage in a mixed area of arable fields and woods in England (Putman 1986). Damage of field crops by roe deer in the Maremma Regional Park was negligible, despite a generally high supply of cultivated plants in the agricultural site.…”

Section: Roe Deer Diet In Relation To Food Resource Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 88%

“…In order to limit forest and crop damage, forest management and agriculture policy should consider these mechanisms and the capacity of roe deer to adapt quickly to temporary high-quality forage supply by providing alternative food (Putman 1986;Moser et al 2006). With respect to predictive climate change scenarios, which suggest increasing probability of heatwaves and droughts in summer, the flexibility of forage behaviour may enable roe deer to adapt to changing plant availability patterns, as long as sufficient high-quality food is available.…”

Section: Roe Deer Diet In Relation To Food Resource Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local and seasonal variations of roe deer diet in relation to food resource availability in a Mediterranean environment

Minder

2011

Eur J Wildl Res

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Feeding behaviour patterns of European roe deer are well known but not in their southern range, where in contrast to Central and northern Europe the climate is characterised by mild winters, but hot and dry summer months. Spatial and temporal variations of the roe deer diet were investigated by analyses of 597 faecal samples in a coastal area in Italy. The aim was to evaluate the adaptive strategies of dietary intake to seasonal availability of different forage types in areas of fairly natural Mediterranean scrubwood and different areas dominated by agricultural habitats. A wide range of plant taxa (151 species/genera) was used, belonging to eight categories. A gradient was found from a diet dominated by woody plants and fruits in natural habitats to one characterised by cultivated plants in the agricultural areas. Usage of forage categories in areas dominated by woodland was proportional to their availability, whereas diet selection was found in the agricultural habitats, particularly marked in summer, the time at which food quantity and quality decreased due to harvest and drought. As to seasonal variation, the summer and autumn diets included more deciduous browse, whereas the winter diet was characterised by an increasing use of cereals and grass. In most areas, half-woody browse and fruit were preferred; grass and cereals were used less than expected by their availability. Most probably, selective behaviour patterns are linked to the difference of quality between plants together with their variable abundance, which is more evident in agricultural areas than in the woodland.

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Section: Roe Deer Diet In Relation To Food Resource Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Roe Deer Diet In Relation To Food Resource Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Local and seasonal variations of roe deer diet in relation to food resource availability in a Mediterranean environment

Minder

2011

Eur J Wildl Res

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“…2) mostly surrounded by Middle Buntsandstein in the deer roaming range area, the consumption of agricultural fertilized products would have accounted for 30% to the deer diet, assuming similar Sr/Ca ratios for woodland and agricultural plain plants. This is not an incongruous result despite the fact that roe deer is mainly a woodland species (Hewison et al, 2001), because deer also select weed species amongst crops in small woodlands and agricultural areas (Johnson, 1984;Putman, 1986). An important conclusion from our study is that modern faunal samples cannot be used unambiguously to determine the "baseline" for bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in past migration studies in areas where fertilizers use has been documented.…”

Section: Geological Vs Biological-available Srmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

Maurer

Galer

Knipper

et al. 2012

Science of The Total Environment

213

190

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Sr/ 86 Sr reference maps (isoscapes) are a key tool for investigating past human and animal migrations. However, there is little understanding of which biosphere samples are best proxies for local bioavailable Sr when dealing with movements of past populations. In this study, biological and geological samples (ground vegetation, tree leaves, rock leachates, water, soil extracts, as well as modern and archeological animal teeth and snail shells) were collected in the vicinity of two early medieval cemeteries ("Thuringians", 5-6th century AD) in central Germany, in order to characterize 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the local biosphere. Animal tooth enamel is not appropriate in this specific context to provide a reliable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr baseline for investigating past human migration. Archeological faunal teeth data (pig, sheep/goat, and cattle) indicates a different feeding area compared to that of the human population and modern deer teeth 87 Sr/ 86 Sr such as freshwater bivalve shells and tree cores were examined in order to track potential historic anthropogenic contamination of the water and the vegetation. The data obtained from the archeological bivalve shells show that the modern rivers yield 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios which are similar to those of the past. However, the tree cores registered decreasing 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values over time towards present day likely mirroring anthropogenic activities such as forest liming, coal mining and/or soil acidification. The comparison of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the Thuringian skeletons excavated in the same area also shows that the vegetation samples are very likely anthropogenically influenced to some extent, affecting especially 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the shallow rooted plants.

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“…Putman (1986) found that large herbivores used food from agricultural fields to the largest extent in the vegetation period. Both quantity and quality of this food source greatly surpassed the natural sources and the diet of animals consuming a higher share of cereals was of much better quality than that of the individuals exploiting only the natural sources from the forest environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of agricultural crops adjacent to forest on woody species browsing: Is it advantageous to have a tasty neighbour?

Kamler¹,

Homolka²

2016

J. For. Sci.

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ABSTRACT:Preference of biotopes and selection of food by wild herbivores are more complicated in a cultural landscape used for agriculture than in natural conditions. Agricultural management significantly affects the feeding as well as cover conditions of the environment and changes in quality and accessibility of food sources occur throughout the year. We studied the consumption of agricultural crops and impact on tree shoots by herbivores in a mosaic landscape. Large herbivores utilized the food supply on the lands outside the forest environment during winter and early spring and in summer. In summer the cereal grains were preferred by herbivores and accounted for a significant share in their diet. The intensity of shoot browsing differed between the localities and between the studied woody species but was not lower due to the presence of attractive crops near the forest. The utilization of food outside the forest may help the animals to survive the winter but the potential of this food for reducing tree browsing in the forest is low.Keywords: browsing; diet selection; impact; large herbivores Free-living herbivores are natural and important members of ecosystems and due to their good reproductive potential they are among the factors that can significantly affect the habitat development on the level of biotope, ecosystem and even landscape (Augustine, Decalesta 2003). In natural conditions, their abundance is regulated by predators and insufficiency of food, while in cultural landscape these autoregulation mechanisms are disturbed. In some cases this has led to high stocks of species that adapted themselves to the altered conditions successfully. Their high abundance then has negative effects on the economics of agriculture and forestry and it may even threaten the ecological stability of ecosystems. That is why constant attention is paid to the feeding ecology of large herbivores, their spatial activity, preference of various food sources and possibilities how to reduce their negative impacts on the environment. Generally, the more intensively the landscape is farmed, the worse the living conditions of game, and the higher the abundance of game, the greater disharmony has to be expected in the relations between vegetation and consumers.Movements and feeding ecology of large herbivores have been well documented in forest habitats; however, little information related to deer movements exists in intensively cultivated areas (Matrai et al. 2004;Brinkman et al. 2005).Furthermore, large herbivores are able to migrate over long distances, search for the best food sources and flexibly change the spectrum of their diet components (Mcshea, Schwede 1993;Thirgood 1995;Szemethy et al. 2003a;Matrai et al. 2004). Besides the quality of the food sources, preference of a biotope is affected also by their quantity, accessibility, risk of disturbing and other factors.Preference of biotopes, selection of food and also survival strategy are more complicated in a cultural landscape used for agriculture than in natural conditions a...

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Foraging by Roe Deer in Agricultural Areas and Impact on Arable Crops

Cited by 51 publications

References 1 publication

Local and seasonal variations of roe deer diet in relation to food resource availability in a Mediterranean environment

Local and seasonal variations of roe deer diet in relation to food resource availability in a Mediterranean environment

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

Influence of agricultural crops adjacent to forest on woody species browsing: Is it advantageous to have a tasty neighbour?

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