Zimowe rozmieszczenie przestrzenne danieli Dama dama w borze sosnowym

The fallow deer is a species with a wide range of occurrence that primarily inhabits deciduous and mixed forests in Europe and North America. However, it also inhabits boreal environments that are rich in understory, fields, and meadows. Some parts of Poland have a high density of fallow deer due to human activities. Despite its extensive distribution, many aspects of this species ecology remain unexplored. Our research was performed in Osie and Dąbrowa forest districts in the Tuchola Forest (northern Poland), where the fallow deer is an introduced species. The objectives of the study was to determine the factors influencing the winter spatial distribution of the fallow deer in an environment dominated by Scots pine forests. Using the pellet−group count method, four 100 m2 circular plots (5.6−m radius) were located 100 m apart one from the other on the perimeters of 25 equally distributed 500×500 m squares (16 circles/square) within the research area. The mean density of the fallow deer pellets ranged widely across the study area (0.5–5.6 (±1.27) pellets/square). The most significant factor affecting their winter spatial distribution was distance to water. The redundancy analysis showed that in winter, fallow deer avoids the boreal forests and chooses meadows, pastures, and cultivated fields. The fallow deer in the Tuchola Forest occurred mainly along the watercourses and meadows.