Le chevreuil

Synthèse des études disponibles sur le chevreuil en France (Génétique population, répartition, particularités morphologiques, particularités physiologiques, pathologie, utilisation de l'espace, utilisation du temps, alimentation, vie sociale, comportement reproducteur, relations interspécifiques, dynamique et structure des populations

‘This restless enemy of all fertility’: exploring paradigms of coastal dune management in Western Europe over the last 700 years

Drifting sand has inundated settlements and damaged agricultural land along the coasts of Western Europe for the last 700 years. The need to control sand migration has been an important driver of the management of coastal sand dunes and here we analyse original archival materials to provide new insights into historically changing coastal dune management practices. Records of coastal sand movement in Denmark, The Netherlands, Britain, Ireland and France were reviewed and three distinct management approaches were identified. The ways in which these approaches have played out in space and time were examined with particular reference to records from landed estates in Britain and Ireland. We demonstrate how historical evidence can be used to inform contemporary debates on dune management strategy and practice. We propose a new place-based approach to the future management of coastal dunes that can incorporate both expert and locally produced ‘knowledges’ and that is underpinned by an understanding of how both natural forces and human interventions have shaped these dune landscapes over time

Impact du chevreuil sur deux types de peuplements forestiers en fonctionde la densite de population

International audienc

Etude du déterminisme de la consommation des essences forestières par le chevreuil : 2ème tranche : 1994-1996 (rapport final)

Food selection by roe deer has been discribed in relation to the food quality of the plant available through the observations of the tamed animals. Roe deers are highly selective feeders. Use of the plant species correlated positively with quality and concentration of phenolics, and negatively with spines. Some ways to prevent roe deer forest damages are discussed. / Les travaux menés sur des chevreuils maintenus en captivité ont permis de mettre en évidence la très grande sélectivité alimentaire de l'animal vis à vis de la végétation forestière comme des essences objectifs. Cette sélectivité repose sur une recherche des ressources nutritionnelles de bonne qualité. Les métabolites secondaires (phénols et terpènes) ne jouent aucun rôle dans les choix. La présence d'épines diminue la vitesse d'ingestion des plantes par le chevreuil. Les conséquences de ces travaux pour diminuer les dégâts sont discutées

The spatial distribution of birds and carabid beetles in pine plantation forests: the role of landscape composition and structure

Aim To evaluate the joint and independent effects of spatial location, landscape composition and landscape structure on the distribution patterns of bird and carabid beetle assemblages in a mosaic landscape dominated by pine plantation forests. Location A continuous 3000-ha landscape mosaic with native maritime pine Pinus pinaster plantations of different ages, deciduous woodlands and open habitats, located in the Landes de Gascogne forest of south-western France. Methods We sampled breeding birds by 20-min point counts and carabid beetles by pitfall trapping using a systematic grid sampling of 200 points every 400 m over the whole landscape. Explanatory variables were composed of three data sets derived from GIS habitat mapping: (1) spatial variables (polynomial terms of geographical coordinates of samples), (2) landscape composition as the percentage cover of the six main habitats, and (3) landscape structure metrics including indices of fragmentation and spatial heterogeneity. We used canonical correspondence analysis with variance partitioning to evaluate the joint and independent effects of the three sets of variables on the ordination of species assemblages. Moran's I correlograms and Mantel tests were used to assess for spatial structure in species distribution and relationships with separate landscape attributes. Results Landscape composition was the main factor explaining the distribution patterns of birds and carabids at the mesoscale of 400 X 400 m. Independent effects of spatial variables and landscape structure were still significant for bird assemblages once landscape composition was controlled for, but not for carabid assemblages. Spatial distributions of birds and carabids were primarily influenced by the amount of heathlands, young pine plantations, herbaceous firebreaks and deciduous woodlands. Deciduous woodland species had positive responses to edge density, while open habitat species were positively associated with mean patch area. Main conclusions Forest birds were favoured by an increase in deciduous woodland cover and landscape heterogeneity, but there was no evidence for a similar effect on carabid beetles. Fragmentation of open habitats negatively affected both early-successional birds and carabids, specialist species being restricted to large heathlands and young plantations. Several birds of conservation concern were associated with mosaics of woodlands and grasslands, especially meadows and firebreaks. Conserving biodiversity in mosaic plantation landscapes could be achieved by the maintenance of a significant amount of early-successional habitats and deciduous woodland patches within a conifer plantation matri