Life on the edge : hedgehog traffic victims and mitigation strategies in an anthropogenic landscape

This study focused on the most frequently recorded mammal species in road-kill surveys in western Europe: the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). Investigations were conducted in an anthropogenic landscape and had two major aims:to quantify the effects of traffic mortality at individual, population, and species levels, andto explore how the number of traffic victims could be reduced through changes in the landscape in areas adjacent to roads.The negative effects of roads and traffic were particularly clear at the individual level, and one could consider this reason enough to take mitigating actions. In addition, hedgehogs are likely to be affected at the population level. However, at the species level, the hedgehog has mostly benefited from many of the human-induced changes in the landscape. The way people manage the landscape seems to be the key factor in determining the long term future of the species. Manipulation of certain landscape features can be used to make wildlife passages more effective and also to keep hedgehogs away from road sections between passages.Key words - agricultural lands, anthropogenic landscape, barriers, behaviour, body weight, compensation, corridor, disease, edge habitat, Erinaceus europaeus, footprints, habitat fragmentation, habitat selection, hedgehog, hedgerow, human impact, injury, landscape changes, mating strategy, mitigation, mortality, nest sites, The Netherlands, population density, relative population density, road density, road-kills, roads, traffic intensity, traffic victims, urban wildlife, vegetation, vehicle clearance, wildlife passages.</p

The impacts of ditch cuttings on weed pressure and crop yield in maize

The Flevoland Polder in The Netherlands is characterised by large agricultural fields separated by ditches. The vegetation in the ditches is typically cut twice a year to ensure sufficient drainage. Removal of the cuttings, primarily reed (Phragmites australis), results in a substantial increase in biodiversity. In many cases however, the cuttings are considered a waste product and the material is left on the spot. This paper focuses on a practical on-farm application for the cuttings that may stimulate farmers to remove the material from the ditches. Instead of treating the cuttings as a waste product they were used as green compost and ploughed into a maize field after the harvest. This study investigates the effect of the cuttings on weed pressure and crop yield for two weed control systems, integrated and mechanical, for 2 years. The cuttings (15 and 30 m3/ha) did not lead to a change in total weed cover in either weed control system. However, the cuttings did result in increased species richness of weeds early in the first season. This effect disappeared after weed control. Taraxacum officinale, Solanum nigrum and Urtica dioica all increased when cuttings were applied, but their cover remained relatively low. The abundance of potential diaspores of P. australis did not result in its presence in the maize field. Despite a slight increase in weed pressure and possible immobilisation of nitrogen due to decomposition of the cuttings, the cuttings did not affect maize yiel

Egelonderzoek in Europa

De interessantste zaken van de Fourth International Hedgehog Workshop (28-29 januari, Zweden). Aandacht voor o.a. onderzoek naar monitoring, doodsoorzaken (waaronder wegen), leefgebieden, invloed van de mens op het landschap en de gevolgen voor egel

The location of hedgehog traffic victims in relation to landscape features

Kort bericht omtrent een studie naar de invloed van omgevingsfactoren en wegkarakteristieken op het aantal verkeersslachtoffers onder egel