Small mammal community changes during succession of the planted forest

Abstract

Small mammal communities were investigated in three stages of meadow-forest succession (natural meadow, <10 years old forest plantation, and 15 years old spruce–birch forest stand) in the Pakruojis forest, north Lithuania, in 2007–2010. A total of 11 small mammal species were registered: nine in the natural meadow and in the forest plantation, and six in the forest stand. We found that under gradual change of the natural meadow to the young forest and later to the mixed forest stand, the diversity of the small mammal community decreased. Typical open habitat species were still present in the sapling stage, but already lost in the forest stand. The growing relative abundance of small mammals was due to the increased numbers of Myodes glareolus instead of Microtus voles.