The Influence of Forestry Management on the Selection of a Non-Vegetative Diet by the Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber L.)

Abstract

Native ecosystems have been transformed by humans into cultural landscapes, resulting in the disruption of natural interactions, with some species unable to adapt and disappearing from such landscapes. Other species were able to adapt their behavior to current environmental conditions. In some places, forest management has gradually transformed native diversified forests into stands converted for the greatest profit in the wood matter, thereby affecting the food availability for herbivores, among them the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758). This study summarizes knowledge on non-vegetation diet selection by beavers in commercial and natural forests in the Czech Republic. A sample size of 25,723 woody plant specimens checked in 288 forest stands showed that beavers prefer willow, poplar, or hazel, but where these are less available, commercial tree species such as oak may dominate the diet and cause economic losses in forestry. Significant differences were also observed in a preference for different trunk diameters and distances from water in different types of stands. In terms of stand types, commercial monocultures are the most felled, while the probability of felling decreases with the age of stands. Based on these results and discussion, it is suggested that commercial forest stands including economically valuable woody plant species (e.g., oak, ash) could be protected through appropriate management measures, such as increasing the proportion of deciduous softwood stands along the riverbanks, which would distract the beavers from commercial woody plant species.