CANADIAN BEAVER ( CASTOR CANADENSIS KUHL) AS AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE KARELIAN PART OF THE GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA
The article discusses the role of the Green Belt of Fennoscandia (GBF) in the dispersal of beavers. The study is focused primarily on old-growth forests inside GBF, which have been preserved in the Kostomukshsky Strict Nature Reserve and Kalevalsky National Park. The specific characteristics of thes...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
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Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.17076/eco1081 https://doaj.org/article/0721f15aa1d6427fb3b6e3df18710e1c |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0721f15aa1d6427fb3b6e3df18710e1c 2023-05-15T16:11:49+02:00 CANADIAN BEAVER ( CASTOR CANADENSIS KUHL) AS AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE KARELIAN PART OF THE GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA Fyodor Fyodorov Yury Krasovsky 2019-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.17076/eco1081 https://doaj.org/article/0721f15aa1d6427fb3b6e3df18710e1c EN RU eng rus Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences http://journals.krc.karelia.ru/index.php/ecology/article/view/1081 https://doaj.org/toc/1997-3217 https://doaj.org/toc/2312-4504 1997-3217 2312-4504 doi:10.17076/eco1081 https://doaj.org/article/0721f15aa1d6427fb3b6e3df18710e1c Transactions of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Iss 5 (2019) old-growth forests beaver settlements forage resources building activity protected areas Science Q article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.17076/eco1081 2022-12-31T02:41:58Z The article discusses the role of the Green Belt of Fennoscandia (GBF) in the dispersal of beavers. The study is focused primarily on old-growth forests inside GBF, which have been preserved in the Kostomukshsky Strict Nature Reserve and Kalevalsky National Park. The specific characteristics of these areas – the abundance of waterbodies and the ex-tremely poor food resources for beavers – accelerated the dispersal of Canadian beavers from Finland towards the east and south of Karelia. Aspen, birch and willow, on which beavers mostly feed in winter, rarely occur in the north of GBF and are consumed by beavers in the first 2–3 years of their stay at a waterbody. The animals are therefore im-pelled to change their places of residence frequently and move over long distances. Surveys carried out in the Kostomukshsky Nature Reserve in 2018 showed that over 80 % of known colonies have been abandoned by beavers. In 2001, this proportion was 60 %. Most of the inhabited colonies were re-occupied, as a rule by single animals, who settled in an abandoned lodge temporarily. On average, the share of settlements occupied by single beavers was 45 %. The distribution of beaver settlements in old-growth north-taiga forests is very uneven, since it is more dependent on forage resources than on favorable habitat. It our surveys, 73.3 % (n = 75) of the settlements were situated in river stretches with water-logged birch and birch-spruce forests growing along their banks. A half of all settlements situated at watercourses were concentrated near highways, railways, power lines, i. e. where aspen and birch stands have formed after logging. We revealed a high building activity of beavers living in the north. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fennoscandia karelia* karelian taiga Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Proceedings of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences 5 30 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English Russian |
topic |
old-growth forests beaver settlements forage resources building activity protected areas Science Q |
spellingShingle |
old-growth forests beaver settlements forage resources building activity protected areas Science Q Fyodor Fyodorov Yury Krasovsky CANADIAN BEAVER ( CASTOR CANADENSIS KUHL) AS AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE KARELIAN PART OF THE GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA |
topic_facet |
old-growth forests beaver settlements forage resources building activity protected areas Science Q |
description |
The article discusses the role of the Green Belt of Fennoscandia (GBF) in the dispersal of beavers. The study is focused primarily on old-growth forests inside GBF, which have been preserved in the Kostomukshsky Strict Nature Reserve and Kalevalsky National Park. The specific characteristics of these areas – the abundance of waterbodies and the ex-tremely poor food resources for beavers – accelerated the dispersal of Canadian beavers from Finland towards the east and south of Karelia. Aspen, birch and willow, on which beavers mostly feed in winter, rarely occur in the north of GBF and are consumed by beavers in the first 2–3 years of their stay at a waterbody. The animals are therefore im-pelled to change their places of residence frequently and move over long distances. Surveys carried out in the Kostomukshsky Nature Reserve in 2018 showed that over 80 % of known colonies have been abandoned by beavers. In 2001, this proportion was 60 %. Most of the inhabited colonies were re-occupied, as a rule by single animals, who settled in an abandoned lodge temporarily. On average, the share of settlements occupied by single beavers was 45 %. The distribution of beaver settlements in old-growth north-taiga forests is very uneven, since it is more dependent on forage resources than on favorable habitat. It our surveys, 73.3 % (n = 75) of the settlements were situated in river stretches with water-logged birch and birch-spruce forests growing along their banks. A half of all settlements situated at watercourses were concentrated near highways, railways, power lines, i. e. where aspen and birch stands have formed after logging. We revealed a high building activity of beavers living in the north. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fyodor Fyodorov Yury Krasovsky |
author_facet |
Fyodor Fyodorov Yury Krasovsky |
author_sort |
Fyodor Fyodorov |
title |
CANADIAN BEAVER ( CASTOR CANADENSIS KUHL) AS AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE KARELIAN PART OF THE GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA |
title_short |
CANADIAN BEAVER ( CASTOR CANADENSIS KUHL) AS AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE KARELIAN PART OF THE GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA |
title_full |
CANADIAN BEAVER ( CASTOR CANADENSIS KUHL) AS AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE KARELIAN PART OF THE GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA |
title_fullStr |
CANADIAN BEAVER ( CASTOR CANADENSIS KUHL) AS AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE KARELIAN PART OF THE GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA |
title_full_unstemmed |
CANADIAN BEAVER ( CASTOR CANADENSIS KUHL) AS AN INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE KARELIAN PART OF THE GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA |
title_sort |
canadian beaver ( castor canadensis kuhl) as an invasive species in the karelian part of the green belt of fennoscandia |
publisher |
Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.17076/eco1081 https://doaj.org/article/0721f15aa1d6427fb3b6e3df18710e1c |
genre |
Fennoscandia karelia* karelian taiga |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia karelia* karelian taiga |
op_source |
Transactions of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Iss 5 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://journals.krc.karelia.ru/index.php/ecology/article/view/1081 https://doaj.org/toc/1997-3217 https://doaj.org/toc/2312-4504 1997-3217 2312-4504 doi:10.17076/eco1081 https://doaj.org/article/0721f15aa1d6427fb3b6e3df18710e1c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17076/eco1081 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
30 |
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1765997015793139712 |