L. Forró szerk.: Miscellanea Zoologica Hungarica 13. 2000 (Budapest, 2000)

Horváth, Gy.; Pintér, V.: Small mammal fauna of two abandoned field habitats, and a spatio-temporal analysis of four rodent populations

In Hungary Palotás (1986) performed removal and live-trapping investigations in 8 sample areas in the Hortobágy, a conclusion of which was the structural and dynamical description of the native small mammal communities. There he conducted trappings in several open habitats among which he selected an alfalfa field to represent agricultural areas, a riverside embankment to stand for temporary wintering habitat, and also two grasslands and a loess pasture. The plant associations in our two selected open habitats are in different stages of succession, and from a landscape-ecological approach, these could be described as areas habitat fragments or habitats mosaic situated in between cultivated and abandoned fields of other nature. The present study aims at giving a comparison of the small mammal fauna of the two areas, and an analysis of the spatial and temporal dynamics of their four most frequent rodent species. Material and methods Study areas The trappings were carried out in two open areas of different vegetation. These two sampling areas (A, B) are described in the followings (Fig. 1 ). A - 3-year old abandoned field with ruderal weed association Fig. 1. Location of the two sampling areas in South Hungary