Abstract
Human–wildlife interactions (HWI) were frequent in the post-socialist period in the mountain range of Central European countries where forest habitats suffered transitions into built-up areas. Such is the case of the Upper Prahova Valley from Romania. In our study, we hypothesized that the increasing number of HWI after 1990 could be a potential consequence of woodland loss. The goal of our study was to analyse the effects of landscape changes on HWI. The study consists of the next steps: (i) applying 450 questionnaires to local stakeholders (both citizens and tourists) in order to collect data regarding HWI temporal occurrences and potential triggering factors; (ii) investigating the relation between the two variables through the Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA); (iii) modelling the landscape spatial changes between 1990 and 2018 for identifying areas with forest loss; (iv) overlapping the distribution of both the households affected by HWI and areas with loss of forested ecosystems. The local stakeholders indicate that the problematic species are the brown bear (Ursus arctos), the wild boar (Sus scrofa), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the grey wolf (Canis lupus). The number of animal–human interactions recorded an upward trend between 1990 and 2018, and the most significant driving factors were the regulation of hunting practices, the loss of habitats, and artificial feeding. The landscape change analysis reveals that between 1990 and 2018, the forest habitats were replaced by built-up areas primarily on the outskirts of settlements, these areas coinciding with frequent HWI. The results are valid for both forest ecosystems conservation in the region, wildlife management, and human infrastructures durable spatial planning.
Highlights
The potential impact of landscape spatial characteristics induced by human activities over interactions with wildlife (HWI) has been globally studied
As a consequence of the complex aspects characterizing HWI and the acuteness of the phenomenon within the Upper Prahova Valley, we developed the hypothesis: (i) “the upper Prahova valley suffered in the post-socialist period both a major loss of forest ecosystems and an increasing HWI conflict”, and (ii) “local stakeholders could provide deep insights regarding the potential triggering factors of HWI”
The landscape change models revealed that the Upper Prahova Valley suffered considerable forest loss, especially after 2000, when the outskirts of the major resorts sprawled into the forest and numerous vacation houses were constructed
Summary
The potential impact of landscape spatial characteristics induced by human activities over interactions with wildlife (HWI) has been globally studied. A large amount of public land went under private ownership and the interest for urban areas and road and energy infrastructures have massively changed the ecological landscape and triggered numerous wildlife intrusions into human habitat, which led to numerous conflicts [1,2]. In underdeveloped countries where the wildlife population still thrives, human demographics growth and connected anthropogenic activities encroach on once-wild areas, sometimes resulting in fatal animal attacks [3]. Habitat loss due to the expansion of road and transport infrastructures is one of the main causes of vehicle collisions with large mammals and it is responsible for severe human and animal injuries and expensive property damage [4]. Habitat loss induced by agricultural practices generated conflicts between farmers and wildlife producing crop damage to farmlands [8]
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