Volume 6 (2013): Edizione 1 (January 2013)

Leporids play a dynamic role in the ecosystem and assessments must be undertaken in order to improve research efforts and methods. Landscape ecology metrics are used to quantify components of leporid habitat such as vegetation structure, vegetation cover, habitat type, and fragmentation; however, the degree to which the metrics are utilized in leporid research is relatively unknown. This paper assessed fifty-three published, peer reviewed papers on leporids from various European countries on where the study was done, the species of leporid that was studied, the content of the study (i.e. what the paper focused on), the length of the study, the size of the study area, and the method of study. The quantified landscape metrics within these papers were assessed. This study found that most of the studies occurred in Spain, the European rabbit and European hare were the most studied leporids, many papers were concerned with habitat relationships, many of the studies were conducted in a year or less, many papers utilized pellet surveys and trapping, and the most common landscape metric utilized was habitat type. This survey of research on leporids highlights that there is a lack of utilizing landscape structure and function metrics such as slope, fragmentation, and edge effect. These are important variables to help connect structure and function of ecological processes in the context of leporid habitat and landscapes. It is recommended that leporid researchers and landscape planners exchange research findings so that the best planning practices can occur on the ground for the leporids

Three to four dominant seed-transporting ant species of different size categories (Tetramorium caespitum, Lasius niger, Formica rufibarbis/Formica pratensis) on the plateau of abandoned ore sedimentation basin (tailings containment) were studied as pioneer and subsequent colonisers of this industrial waste deposit, from the viewpoint of their functioning in plant seed dispersal. We examined the role of ants in primary vegetation succession. Experiments of seed removal by ants with plant species found within close proximity of tailings were related to the succession. Ant activity generates a considerable shift in the quality of the colonised surface, as they collectively act as ecosystem engineers

Land-use change is one of the major drivers of global biodiversity loss, its study experiencing continuous development and increasing recognition, influencing main research directions within ecology. Many studies target the negative aspect; however, the modification of the natural environment over centuries and millennia led to the biodiversity, in its broadest sense, we are trying to conserve nowadays within cultural landscapes. This theoretical paper deals with the issue of spatial and temporal variations in extensively managed rural landscapes from Central-Eastern Europe. The constraints of the state of the art and arising challenges for biodiversity management in complex, farmed landscapes of high nature conservation value are discussed, through the example of Transylvania (Romania). The paper argues for the necessity of considering historical perspectives and traditional knowledge in an attempt to understand the current on-site conditions and developing realistic adaptive management strategies with special emphasis on the (traditional) rural communities, representing a key resource for biodiversity conservation

The presented article introduces methods and some results of a project aiming to improve the protection of landscape permeability for migration of large mammals. The main aim of the project was delimitation of migration corridors, representing an ecological network connecting areas of existing, or potential presence of focal species. Based on mapping of current and historical occurrence of selected species of large predators and ungulates, areas of potential presence of such species were defined, including further analysis of connectivity of these areas. At the same time, all categories of anthropogenic and natural barriers were described. Migration corridors were designed over detailed topographic datasets, according to the results of habitat analyses of both groups of animals, and subsequently were tested in the field. The project resulted in a coherent network of existing and proposed migration corridors, with sections categorised according to permeability, as well as methodical protection and a management plan

This paper studies non-indigenous dwarf pine stands in the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains, from the perspective of their spatial and genetic relations to slope phenomena of deformation character. The paper contains a typology of regional slope deformations, data on their spatial distribution and specific properties, including risk estimates of their origination or further development in case of potential future dwarf pine stand clearings, as well as a three-stage categorization of dwarf pine stands based on this tendency. The results were processed using data from literary sources, map documents and aerial photos, as well as an extensive field survey. Three main types of slope deformations were distinguished on sites with highly variable geomorphological features - extensive complex phenomena with numerous subforms, linear debris flows and local shallow landslides. The acquired data show that while dwarf pine stands have no great effect on the development of large slope phenomena, they play a more significant reinforcement role in the prevention of smaller surface deformations, the origination of which is predominantly related to steeper slopes. The results of this study can serve for future decision making on the management of dwarf pine stands