The impact of Agri-Environment Schemes (AES) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) on the density of European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) populations in Hungary

Abstract

Most Lepus species can easily adapt to new or changing environments. Until the 1960s, the brown hare estimated stock in Hungary went above 1,200,000 specimens. But also in Hungary and across Europe, hare densities have decreased in the past few decades. The primary cause of declining hare populations is habitat alteration in agricultural landscapes caused by the intensification of agricultural practices. Because the well-being and herd size of small game species, such as the hare, are strongly influenced by the ecological environment, following in their population characteristics can be used as an indicator of habitat quality, with the results being used not only in wildlife management, but also in nature conservation and agricultural greening programs. Our goal is to compare the size of the hare game management to the efficiency of the agricultural support system, vegetation types, and the quantity of red fox, all of which can have an impact on the hares density. In a large-scale survey we found that the estimated hare density index decreased year after year. There were no more animals discovered in the "better areas" overall. According to the model, if the game management units contained a large proportion of AKG arable land, the expected hare density would rise. Similarly, if the region had a high proportion of AKG fields but a low or average fox harvest rate, the hare population would be unable to grow. Animal density decreased slightly, albeit in a trend, as the number of AKG lawns increased. Hare distribution has shrunk over time, especially in areas with a high percentage of suitable habitat. The hare harvest density remained constant year after year in VGEs with a higher proportion of AKG grassland. The foxs declining rate had no effect on the increase in harvest density. Overall, it appears from a national spatial scale study that even in less good areas, the support could not improve the habitat because its effect did not depend on the proportion of good areas, i.e. even in the case of VGEs with a small proportion of good areas, it could not add much to the hare population density a lot of AKG. Cattle pasture comprised a significant portion of the AKG grasslands. Because the effect of intensively grazed regions on hares is clearly negative due to excessively short grass, the high standard deviation values observed in high proportion AKG grasslands may be explained by this.