State of the Red Deer Population, its Dynamics and Impact on the Habitats in the Žagarė Botanical-Zoological Reserve

Abstract

In 1993-1995, red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) abundance, herd structure, reproduction and impact on woody vegetation was estimated in the Žagarė Botanical-Zoological Reserve (2.5 thou ha), the primary centre of the animals’ re-acclimatisation in Lithuania, in which especially high abundance of the cervid population was observed for a long time. The obtained results are compared with the data of analogous investigations carried out in the reserve in 1976-1977. It has been established that after the population density decreased by 100 to 50 ind./1000 ha, the relative abundance of the calves grew (by 15 to 26%), and the females (including 2-year-old ones) participating in reproduction made 84%. Due to a long-term impact of cervid abundance on woody vegetation a part of clear cuttings has overgrown by sedge grasses and trees disliked by cervids, or bogged up. Simultaneously, tree and bush species likeable by cervids have diminished in the undergrowth and shrubs (ash – by 31.7 to 7.1%, European aspen – by 9.4 to 0.8%) and intensity of their damage has notably increased. To avoid the negative impact made by cervids on the reserve vegetation it is recommended that their population density should not exceed 50 ind./1000 ha.