Assumptions for the delineation of refuges for the European bison at Bieszczady

Abstract

A need to delineate refuges for European bison dwelling at Bieszczady Mountains emerged from the dispersal of this population over the area administered by State Forests, and from the process of implementation of Natura 2000 network. The list of forest compartments that overlap with areas of highest concentration of the bison, which were proposed as future refuges for this species, was based upon kernel analysis, allowing the identification within the population home range, the areas with assumed probability of animals’ presence. For European bison refuges at Bieszczady, assumed were areas of kernel 50%. The area calculated with such method varied between 532,44 ha to 1046,13 ha for winter seasons, and from 407,22 ha to 906,42 ha for vegetative seasons. The total area of forest compartments selected according to the criteria of the best overlap with areas kernel 50%, and habitat preferences of the bison was 1863,38 ha for winter, and 2490,57 ha for summer refuge. The area of proposed refuges is respectively 7.1% of a winter home range, and 8.2% of the summer home range. Because of a considerable dynamics of concentration areas of the bison, it has been decided that identified areas of refuges will be periodically updated, and included into annual plans of forest management for separate districts.