Distribution and habitat use by red and roe deer following a large forest fire in South-western Poland

Abstract

Although well documented in North America, the relations between deer and large burnt areas have not been studied in Europe. In the early spring of 1997–2000, deer pellet groups were counted following a large (ca. 5000 ha) forest fire in 1992, along 2 m wide transects in the burnt area (total length of transects 23 km) and in unburnt forest (32 km). Throughout the study, the density of roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus) pellets in the burnt area was only around half that in the unburnt forest. A similar trend was noted for red deer ( Cervus elaphus), but only in the first year of the study. The limited use made of the burnt area by roe deer most probably reflected unfavourable food conditions (a prevalence of wood small-reed Calamagrostis epigeios among herbaceous species, and pine ( Pinus silvestris) as well as birch ( Betula pendula) among woody species. For red deer, cover also was important, such that when pine trees were short (most of them below 1.5 m), red deer made less overall use of the burnt area than of the unburnt forest. When trees were taller, red deer use of both areas became similar. The distributions of pellet groups for two deer species across the burnt area were unrelated to distance from the unburnt forest. In the first two years of the study, red deer preferred patches dominated by birch to those with pine. However, later when pines became tall enough to offer adequate cover this difference in use disappeared. In contrast, roe deer used both kinds of patches to a similar degree throughout the study. The use of pine patches by red deer was dependent on tree height, but habitat use by roe deer was not. It was concluded that deer made little use of burnt areas dominated by Calamagrostis sp. and with no forest regeneration of preferred browse species. In the presence of the fast-growing tree species like birch that rapidly provide deer with cover after a fire, tree protection against damage by deer should not be limited to the zone near unburnt forest. Results of the study also suggest that cover may be more important as a determinant of habitat use in large than in smaller deer species.