Historical data on European bison management in Białowieża Primeval Forest can contribute to a better contemporary conservation of the species

Abstract

Many mammal species have been extensively impacted by human interventions in the past. It was especially important for endangered or key species such as European bison Bison bonasus, which has a long history of human interventions and is currently a refugee species confined by anthropogenic activities to suboptimal forest habitats. Using archival information (1795-1915) on bison population dynamics and management practices in Eastern Poland's Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF) in three periods (1795-1860, 1861-1888, 1889-1915) differing in management goals, we identify the main factors affecting bison numbers and discuss implications of this knowledge for modern conservation of the species. Mean annual increase rate of bison population varied between 3.03% in the first, − 3.04% in the second, and 2.69% in the third period. The most important drivers of European bison population dynamics were the increasing supplementary feeding and anthropogenic offtake (annual number of individuals hunted, live-captured and poached), along with opening of the forest by different traditional activities. Although this management was solely directed at hunting goals, relatively low intensity of animal removal and counteracting effect of supplementary feeding secured the survival of the species. However, management practices applied in all three periods acted against natural selection and increased animal dependence on human support. Collected historical data presents a unique longterm assessment of management practices and their effectiveness and allows to draw conclusions for the current management of the species. Historical management was not based on evidence. The general principles of traditional bison management were adapted by the twentieth-century management of reinstated population. To avoid repeating the same mistakes, the contemporary management model needs revaluation and changes to conform to up-to-date knowledge on the species habitat selection and forage requirements. Continuation of traditional management practices will sustain species refugee status.

Białowieża Forest—A Relic of the High Naturalness of European Forests

“…The Russian administration attempted to introduce large-scale logging, yet their efforts were limited and eventually marred by the lack of roads and conflict with the priority given to conservation of European bison [153,158]. In effect, although forest taxation was carried out and the forest was divided into compartments (in 1843-1846), timber exploitation was limited and interspersed with prolonged periods of prohibition on felling [143,159].…”

“…The main difference in the level of preservation of BF in comparison to other Central European forests is an effect of the unique system of protection lasting for more than 500 years, from the end of the 14th to the 19th centuries [145,149]. The long-lasting prohibition on settling and agriculture inside the forest, the regulation and limitation of all types of forest use, and the lack of artificial forest planting and 19th-century management towards conservation of bison all resulted in the preservation of the natural, iconic forest up to the beginning of the 20th century [138,145,149,153,158], fragments of which survived until the beginning of the 21st century [11]. However, current accelerating climate change, combined with trends in societal development and human environmental impacts puts further survival of this forest at risk.…”

Culturally modified trees or wasted timber: Different approaches to marked trees in Poland’s Białowieża Forest

“…During this royal period (fourteenth to eighteenth century), BF was excluded from any unauthorized hunts or timber-felling. Royal forest guards, foresters, riflemen and beaters were settled in villages on the border of the forest to prevent any unauthorized access [32]. Nevertheless, BF served as a source or variety of forest products.…”

European bison conservation cannot afford to ignore alternative hypotheses: a commentary on Perzanowski et al. (2019)

“…All of these point to the European bison being adapted to more open, grass-rich habitats. Furthermore, Kerley et al (2012) demonstrate that the current confinement of European bison to forests reflects the trapping of this species in forest habitat by human pressures and management, a process that has been ongoing for hundreds of years (Samojlik et al, 2019).…”

“…We are also concerned that in following Perzanowski et al (2019), the pending revision of the IUCN conservation action plan for the European bison (Olech, Klich & Perzanowski, 2019) will adopt the same shifted baseline framework. This would perpetuate the last 300 years of management that confines the bison to forests (Samojlik et al, 2019), and requires ongoing food supplementation, as forest habitats are not able to support bison forage needs year-round (Kowalczyk et al, 2011;Kerley et al, 2012). Such management does not reflect wildlife conservation as defined by the IUCN (IUCN/SSC, 2013), but is more akin to farming.…”