Abstract
Abstract Small mammals make up an important link in the food chain as many predator species feed on them. There are indications that small mammal populations in Europe are declining due to the intensification of agriculture. According to national legislation, farmers in Switzerland have to cultivate at least 7% of their land as ecological compensation areas and, thus, some alternative habitats that are possibly beneficial for small mammals have been created. In this study, we estimated the diversity and density of small mammals on two types of conventional farmland field types (artificial grassland and autumn-sown wheat) and three types of ecological compensation areas (wild-flower strips, herbaceous strips and low-intensity meadows) by use of capture-recapture in March, May and July 2003. The common vole Microtus arvalis was the most abundant and predominant species in all habitat types except in herbaceous strips, which harboured the highest diversity with six species caught. In March the density of sma...
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