Linking habitat dynamics and population cycles of small mammals in different mountainous forest types in Austria
Frederik Sachser, BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (AT)
Population cycles of small mammals in mid-european forests are highly affected by multiple dynamic habitat parameters such as the successional stage of the forest, seed rain of large-fruited tree species and climatic parameters. To draw a linkage between those dynamic parameters and small mammal populations we measured several biotic and abiotic habitat factors and conduct live trapping of small mammals in different forest types (2 primary old-growth forests, 1 managed forest and 2 sites of natural disturbance) at wilderness area Dürrenstein, Austria (IUCN category Ia) since 2002.