Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok XI. - Natura Somogyiensis 26. (Kaposvár, 2015)
Gábor A. - Horváth Gy. - Ortmann-né Ajkai A. - Csicsek G.: Quantitative classification of macrohabitats for small mammals' habitat segregation surveys in a forest reserve
124 Natura Somogyiensis changes due to different forest management activities, e.g. selection felling or clear- cutting. The classical and current studies of resource partitioning (e.g. Brown & Lieberman 1973, Schoener 1974, Rosenzweig et al. 1979, Meserve 1981) and competitive coexistence (e.g. Pianka 1976, Rosenzweig 1979, Abramsky et al. 1979, Kotler & Brown 1988, Kelt et al. 1994, Marsh & Harris 2000) have shown that the habitat selection and the resource or habitat partition play important role in the avoidance of competition or reduction of competitive situation which allows the stable coexistence of species in space and time. Most of the classical habitat selection studies were performed in deserts or semi- deserts (e.g. Ambramsky et al. 1979). Segregation studies between coexistent small mammals in well-structured forests (e.g. Carrey & Harrington 2001, Bellows et al. 2001) had been made possible at the end of 1970’s, based on the seminal methodological papers of Dueser & Shugart (1978; 1979). As the abundance of small mammals is affected by both macro-and micro-habitat structure, the scale of habitat selection is an important issue in more studies (e.g. Morris 1987, Jorgensen 2004). Habitat-scale studies provide direct information on the resource utilization of each species, so they are appropriate for community structure analysis (Poindexter et al. 2012). Therefore, the above studies have shown that small mammals are an appropriate indicator group to investigate and understand the mechanisms of habitat selection and segregation in different forest types (structure, age, management). In this study segregation of habitat types and habitat segregation of the three most common small mammal species of Kőszegi-forrás Forest Reserve in 2013 - Apodemus flavicollis, Apodemus sylvaticus and Myodes glareolus - was tested, based on environmental variables selected from literature, and using method new in Hungary, although proven to be appropiate in more countries. Material and methods Study area and forest characteristics Our study was executed in the core area and buffer zone of the Kőszegi-forrás Forest Reserve. It is situated in southern Hungary, in Mecsek Middle Mountains (46°09'28.88" N, 18°17'09.90" E), in Danube-Drava National Park, managed by Mecsek Forestry Ltd. Core area of the forest reserve is 33.0 ha, buffer zone is 116.2 ha (Bartha & Esztó 2002). It is among the best-studied hungarian forest reserves (Horváth et al. 2012). Mean annual temperature is 9°C, annual precipitation is 750-800 mm (Ambrózy & Kozma 1990). The bedrock is Miocene conglomerate covered by fluvisols. Since the majority of the core area lies on a north-facing slope, the most typical plant community here is the beech forest Helleboro odori-Fagetum, despite the low altitude. The canopy consists of Fagus syvatica, although Carpinus betulus and Quercus cerris individuals are also present. The shrub layer is lacking or sparse. The cover of the herb layer varies considerably, and it has a lot of geophytes (e.g. Allium ursinum, Galanthus nivalis, Isopyrum thalictroides) and several plants with a sub-Mediterranean character (e.g. Calamintha sylvatica, Lathyrus venetus, Ruscus hypoglossum). The stand within the forest reserve is ca. 170 years old, and no forestry activities have been carried out since 1973. On the more xeric sites of the forest reserve, the turkey oak-sessile oak forest Potentillo micranthae-Quercetum dalechampii can be found. The canopy is formed by Quercus petraea agg. and Qu. cerris, but other species such as Acer campestre and
