Landscape context and small-mammal abundance in a managed forest

We assessed whether small-mammal abundance was related to landscape context, when context was considered independently of within-stand vegetation and at different spatial extents. The study took place in an industrial forest in northwestern New Brunswick. Within-stand vegetation models explained 9-32% of the deviance in the abundance of individuals from the four most abundant species: red-backed voles, deer mice; short-tailed shrews: and woodland jumping mice. Landscape context was related to the distributions of two species: red-backed voles were less abundant within contexts of softwood plantations; and jumping mouse abundance was directly related to the amount of softwood forest. Variables measured at the largest radii of landscape context (500 m) were never significantly associated with the abundance of small mammals. Most species appeared robust to forest management with the exception of the negative relationship between red-backed voles and softwood plantations. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.