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Collaborative project: Maintenance of open landscapes through target-oriented habitat and wildlife management – integrating free-ranging red deer in open land management. Subproject 3
Project
Project code: 28RZ7008
Contract period: 21.05.2014
- 31.07.2019
Budget: 10,772 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
Keywords: forestry, landscape, landscape preservation, wildlife, grassland
The existing variety of ecologically important habitats and communities in Central-European cultural landscapes is largely the result of historic, extensive types of agricultural land-use systems. The constant, long-term use and formation of these areas through humans is a vital base for biological diversity in present-day cultural landscapes. Substantial changes in land-use systems have made it crucial to conserve such extensively used open areas. To conserve the relevant plant communities and the open condition of such areas, it is necessary to continuously remove biomass through appropriate land-use or constant maintenance. Effective management strategies for large open areas are quite labor-intensive and costly. Extensive grazing with various breeds of livestock has established itself as a suitable tool for the maintenance of open areas but includes several disadvantages. The potential of wild ungulates as habitat engineers has thus far received very little attention. Therefore, the project aims to investigate the contribution of free-ranging red deer for maintaining open habitats. The goals are to determine in how far conservation and management goals can be achieved through red deer, to evaluate the general applicability of red deer grazing for maintaining open areas, and to close current knowledge gaps regarding its implementation. The study will take place on the military training area 'Grafenwöhr” in Bavaria, where the existing red deer population utilizes open habitats intensively, due to a targeted wildlife management. During five years, the development of vegetation, the space-time behaviour of red deer, and the relationship between vegetation and space-use will be studied in two habitats. For this, two permanent monitoring areas with different environmental settings and vegetation types will be chosen. In each of these areas, up to 15 red deer of both sexes will be equipped with GPS-collars and the available vegetation communities and their phenology will be assessed. Additionally, detailed effects of red deer feeding behaviour on the vegetation, and the interaction between red deer grazing and direct management (mowing, fire) will be studied. The study will provide a large information base on habitat use and habitat engineering by red deer in open areas and will enable comprehensive testing, analysis and evaluation of the red deer pasturing system and complementary management measures. At the end of the study, practical management recommendations will be given. Depending on the effectiveness of the red deer pasturing system, a conceptual framework for implementing the approach in other areas will also be developed.
Section overview
Subjects
- Grassland
- Special animal species
- Wildlife Biology
Funding programme
Excutive institution
Funding institution
Project management agencies
Associated projects: Integrating free-ranging red deer in open land management
- Collaborative project: Maintenance of open landscapes through target-oriented habitat and wildlife management – integrating free-ranging red deer in open land management. Subproject 1
- Collaborative project: Maintenance of open landscapes through target-oriented habitat and wildlife management – integrating free-ranging red deer in open land management. Subproject 2
