Damage caused by the American grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) to agricultural crops, poplar plantations and semi-natural woodland in Piedmont, Italy |
| |
| Authors: | Signorile Anna Lisa; Evans Julian |
| |
| Institution: | 1 Imperial College London, 113 Leslie Road, London N2 8BH, England
2 Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, England |
| |
| Abstract: | The incidence of damage caused by grey squirrels in the Turinplain was studied to assess the impact this alien species ishaving on the highly fragmented Piedmont environment, in particularon profitable cereals, poplar plantations and semi-natural woodlands.The survey of damage was conducted both by interviews to localfarmers and growers and by direct assessment using the NearestNeighbour Method on plantations and woodlands, studying randomlychosen plots in the Turin plain to gain a general overview ofthe situation. The results show a low incidence of damage causedby grey squirrels in the area: little or none was found in semi-naturalwoodlands and in agricultural crops, apart from maize whereless than 1 per cent of fields showed damage, and poplar plantationswhere 5 per cent had signs of bark stripping. Damage on maizecrops was random across the plain, but debarking damage to poplarswas mostly concentrated on the western side of the plain, andtended to occur only in particular years. Damage was concentratedclose to streams and rivers surrounding fields and plantations.The introduction of the grey squirrel in Italy has already causedecological damage such as the extinction of the red squirrelin some areas. Nevertheless, little or no information is availableon the damage this species is causing on woodlands or agriculturalareas. This study is a preliminary survey in order to fill thisgap. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 Oxford 等数据库收录！ |
|
