Community- and Species-Level Habitat Associations of Small Mammals in a Hemiboreal Forest–Farmland Landscape

Abstract

Habitat associations of small mammals are an essential component of ecosystem functioning. We studied habitat associations of small mammals during an 8-year period in a hemiboreal forest–farmland landscape. We observed all five rodent and one shrew species in meadows, three species in forests, and two species in crop fields. Total abundance was evenly distributed across the three main habitat types but was biased towards habitat margins. The bank vole, Myodes glareolus, was associated with mature and middle-aged forests and avoided meadows; it was absent from crop fields. The yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis, occurred in all three main habitat types, without significant associations. However, its relative abundance was significantly higher in dry natural meadows and mid-successional forests, and it also favored ecotones. The striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius preferred crop fields and unmanaged meadows over forests. The vital hemiboreal small mammal community requires the preservation of heterogeneous forest–farmland complexes.