Вплив сарни європейської (Capreolus capreolus ) на лісову рослинність природного заповідника «Медобори»

Abstract

Проаналізовано динаміку чисельності сарни (козулі) європейської згідно зимових обліків упродовж 2019- 2023 рр. Досліджено вплив тварини на підріст, підлісок у заповіднику на маршруті, який проліг через територію Вікнянського природоохоронного науково-дослідного відділення (ПНДВ), Краснянського ПНДВ та Городницького ПНДВ. Довжина маршруту становила 9530 м. На маршруті зареєстровано 14 видів дерев. З поїдами виявлено 22,9% підросту, непошкоджений підріст становив – 77,1%. Найчастіше козуля споживала граб і клен (екземпляри граба з поїдами становили 8,9% і клену – 7,5% від загальної кількості). На маршруті зареєстровано 11 видів чагарників. Непошкоджений підлісок становив 80,8%, а пошкоджений – 19,2%. Найбільше зареєстровано поїдів ліщини (10,5%), менше – свидини (4,1%) і бруслини (1,8%), найменше глоду (0,9%).

Conservation and protection of biotic diversity is an important issue. Animals, as one of the main components of forest biocenoses, not only participate in the cycle of substances, but also have a significant impact on the species diversity of phytocenoses and the overall productivity of forests. Crustaceans play an important role in the ecosystem, affecting the plant cover by eating young shoots and leaves. Frequent cases of plant deaths due to an increase in the number of wild ungulates have been recorded in many regions of Ukraine. The aim of our work is to analyze the number of European chamois (roe deer) (Capreolus capreolus) within the Medobory Nature Reserve and its impact on vegetation (undergrowth), since roe deer are the most numerous representative of ungulates in the study area. European chamois (Capreolus capreolus), wild pig (Sus scrofa) are common in the Reserve's plantations (European elk (Alces alces) was last recorded in September 2017 in in the Viknyny Nature Conservation Research Department (NCRD). The impact of the European chamois on the formation of the Medobory Reserve's stands is not sufficiently taken into account. This impact can have extremely negative consequences in winter, when the animals almost completely switch to feeding on vegetative parts of trees and shrubs, including eating the central annual shoots of the main forest-forming species - common oak (Quercus robur), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), sharp-leaved maple (Acer platanoides), small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata) and others. Animal population counts in the Viknyny, Krasne, and Horodnytsya Nature Conservation Research Departments (NCRD) were performed using the double track mapping method. To find out the impact of European chamois on the undergrowth in the reserve, a route of 9,530 meters was laid. The essence of the route method is to determine the damage to the undergrowth and understory by laying a route 1 m wide and as long as possible. On the route, the undergrowth is recorded, divided into undamaged and damaged. The group with weak defoliation includes specimens with up to 30 % branch defoliation, the group with medium defoliation includes specimens with 30-50 % shoot defoliation, and the group with severe defoliation includes specimens with the central shoot bitten off or more than 50 % of the lateral shoots defoliated. Undergrowth is also divided into three groups by height: up to 0.5 m; from 0.5 to 1.5 m; and over 1.5 m. The roe deer feeding area is up to 1.2 m above the soil surface. According to the winter censuses conducted in 2019-2023, the number of roe deer in the Reserve's lands was the highest in 2019 (162 individuals) and the lowest in 2020 (57 individuals). The average number of roe deer during the analyzed period was 110 animals. Of the total number of recorded undergrowth, the highest number of sharp-leaved maple (Acer platanoides) (35.3%) and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) (22.8%) were recorded, while oak (17.0%) and beech (genus Fagus) (9.7%) were less common. We found 22.9% of the undergrowth of trees with gnawings, and 77.1% of the undamaged undergrowth. Most often, roe deer consumed hornbeam and maple (specimens of hornbeam with food made up 8.9% and maple - 7.5% of the total). The undamaged shrubs accounted for 80.8% and the damaged shrubs for 19.2%. The highest number of hazel (Corylus avellana) (10.5%) was recorded on the route. In order to recreate typical natural complexes in the reserve, a special place among the methods of biological protection of forest crops is occupied by the creation of thickened forest crops with delayed felling of lightning. Another method of reducing the negative impact of European chamois on forest vegetation is winter feeding.