Spatiotemporal Variation of Small Mammal Communities in Commercial Orchards across the Small Country

Vitalijus Stirkė, Linas Balčiauskas and Laima Balčiauskienė
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Vitalijus Stirkė: Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
Linas Balčiauskas: Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
Laima Balčiauskienė: Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: The diversity of small mammal communities is a measure of the sustainability of habitats, especially agricultural ones. Based on 2018–2020 data from 18 sites in Lithuania, we analysed factors related to diversity of such a community, specifically the relative abundances and proportions of common vole, striped field mouse, yellow-necked mouse, and bank vole. We assessed the influence of location (central, northern, eastern, southern, and western parts of the country), habitat type (orchards, berry plantations, control habitats), the year and season. The model explained 14.8–33.4% of the listed parameters with p < 0.005 or higher, with the exception of the dominance index and the proportion of the common vole. Time factor (year and season, p < 0.001) and site location ( p < 0.05) had the highest influences, while that of habitat type was less significant. The results of this and the former research suggest that commercial orchards play a role in maintaining the diversity and abundance of small mammal communities in the agrolandscapes.

Keywords: rodents; population indices; spatio-temporal variation; agricultural habitats; Lithuania; northern zone (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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