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Providing quantitative management guidelines is essential for an effective conservation of forest-dependent animal communities. Traditional forest practices at the stand scale simultaneously alter both physical and floristic features with a negative effect on ecosystem processes. Thus, we tested and proposed a method to define forestry prescriptions taking into account the combined effect of woodland structure and tree species composition on the presence of four bird indicator species (Marsh Tit Poecile palustris , European Nuthatch Sitta europaea , Short-toed Tree-creeper Certhya brachydactyla and Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus ). The study was carried out in Lombardy (Northern Italy), from 2002 to 2005. By using a stratified cluster sampling design, we recorded Basal Area, one hundred tree trunk diameters at breast height (DBH) and tree species in 160 sampling plots, grouped in 23 sampling areas. In each plot we also performed a bird survey using the point count method. We analyzed data using Multimodel Inference and Model Averaging on Generalized Linear Mixed Models, with species presence/absence as the response variable, sampling area as a random factor and forest covariates as fixed factors. In order to test our method, we compared it with other two traditional approaches, which consider structural and tree floristic variables separately. Model comparison showed that our method performed better than traditional ones, in both the evaluation and validation processes. Based on our main results, in deciduous mixed forest where the exploitation demand is limited, we recommend maintaining at least 65 trees/ha with DBH > 45 cm. In particular, we advise keeping 70 trees/ha with DBH > 50 cm in chestnut forests and 300 trees/ha with DBH 20–30 cm in oak forests. Conversely, in more exploited oak forests, we advise maintaining at least 670 trees/ha with DBH 15–30 cm in chestnut forests and 100 trees/ha with DBH 10–15 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mortality due to illegal killing is still today one of the main threats to wolf conservation, and an effective management of the conflict between wolf presence and husbandry is a key element for species conservation. The research was aimed at identifying the farm characteristics and the environmental factors that influence predation, and at formulating predictive models of predation risk. We collected and analysed the data on official predation events that occurred during the period 2005–2012 in an area of the northern Apennines, and on the characteristics of livestock farms recorded at the veterinary services. Furthermore, we mapped the grazing areas used by livestock farms and measured 23 variables of the pastures. Our results showed that the majority of predation events were upon cattle, and that grazing management significantly influences the number of predation events. In particular, the pastures that suffered predation were those in which births occur directly on the pasture, those that had at least one period of free grazing during the year, and cattle farms that were lacking in any preventive methods. The number of killed animals per event was higher for sheep than for cattle and goats and increased progressively during the study period. Predation risk increases if the farms practice free grazing at least for a period during the year, if they are not protected by any preventive method and if the degree of surveillance is regular or constant. The risk of predation also increases with the increasing complexity of pasture shape, the decrease in the percentage of coniferous forest and if the pasture is exposed to the north. The model of predation risk showed that 56.6% of the pastures in the study area are potentially exposed to wolf predation, and it allowed us to identify the grazing areas where it is worthwhile intervening with preventive methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term changes of wolf feeding habits have been recorded in several parts of its European range and were related to the increase of wild ungulate populations. An increased use of wild prey often is linked to a decrease of predation on livestock, and consequently it can reduce wolf–human conflict and make for easier predator conservation. We analysed wolf diet from scats collected from 2007 to 2012 in a 927.3-km2area of the Northern Apennines (Northern Italy) to compare the present diet to that recorded in the late 1980s when the area was colonised by wolves, and to examine short-term changes of wolf feeding habits together with annual and seasonal variations of wild and domestic ungulate selection, possibly related to the increase of wild ungulate abundance. We calculated the availability proportions of wild ungulate species from the presence signs recorded on itineraries and those of livestock species from the data on farms of veterinary services. We identified 17 kinds of prey, pooled into six categories, of which wild ungulates (70%) and livestock (20%) were the most important. During the study period, we observed a reduction in the diet breadth of wolves, to a greater use of wild ungulates, depending on the increase in the availability of wild prey species. Significant seasonal variations were observed in the trophic habits of the wolf, but generally there was a wide use of wild ungulates, especially wild boars. Livestock was mainly used in summer, which corresponds to the period of greatest presence of domestic ungulates on the pastures. Considering the study period, a fast response of wolf feeding habits to the increase of wild ungulate species resulted, together with changes in selection patterns. The change in diet towards a greater use of wild ungulates is an important step in the recovery and conservation of the wolf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]