The effects of coppice management on small mammal populations

Abstract

Although the population dynamics of woodland small mammals have been intensively studied (Flowerdew et al., 1985), little work has been carried out with respect to the effects of forest management on small mammal species richness and abundance. It is widely known that the structure and species composition of vegetation in the different horizontal layers within a woodland have a considerable influence on the small mammal community (Hansson, 1977;Gurnell, 1985;Mazurkiewicz, 1986). It follows that an actively managed coppice woodland, with its mosaic of woodland stands differing markedly in plant structure and, but to a lesser extent, composition, provides an excellent model for studying the impact of such variation on small mammal communities. In the main, small mammals are vagile animals with good dispersal abilities. Therefore, with reference to these animals each coppice stand can be considered to be a large or macro-patch of habitat.