Management impacts on three reptile species (Vipera ursinii, Lacerta agilis, Lacerta viridis) in sandy grasslands in Hungary: Mowing should be avoided

Understanding the factors that determine the abundance of populations is of key importance in conservation biology, ecology, and biogeography. For grassland‐associated species, such as the Hungarian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis), habitat management is particularly important. We aimed to study the effects of the three most common types of grassland management (grazing, mowing, and mowing + grazing) on the abundance of reptile species in meadow viper habitats in Kiskunság National Park, in Hungary. We surveyed grasslands repeatedly (n = 15 occasions) for reptiles in one autumn and one spring season in three 1‐ha quadrates per grassland management type. We recorded all reptiles and their activity related to operative temperatures and analyzed data by n‐mixture models. All reptile species known to occur in the habitats were observed during the surveys, but only the green lizard, sand lizard, and Hungarian meadow viper reached the minimum number of observations required for detailed analyses. Grazing had a strong positive effect on the abundance of Hungarian meadow vipers and sand lizards, while both mowing and mowing + grazing rotation had a negative effect. None of the grassland management types affected green lizard abundance. Our results suggest that grazing is the ideal type of grassland management for the endangered Hungarian meadow viper and the sand lizard. Mowing and mowing + grazing should be replaced by grazing to ensure the effectiveness of habitat management for conservation and to maintain healthy populations of grassland‐associated reptile species.

阐明决定种群丰度的影响因素，是保护生物学、生态学与生物地理学领域的核心研究议题。对于草原伴生物种而言，例如匈牙利草原蝰（Vipera ursinii rakosiensis），生境管理尤为关键。本研究旨在探究匈牙利基什孔沙格国家公园（Kiskunság National Park）内草原蝰栖息生境中，三种最常见的草原管理模式——放牧（grazing）、刈割（mowing）以及刈割+放牧轮作（mowing+grazing rotation）——对爬行动物种群丰度的影响。本研究在每种草原管理模式下设置3块1公顷样方，于一个秋季和一个春季开展爬行动物重复调查，累计完成15次采样。研究记录了所有爬行动物个体及其与有效体温相关的活动行为，并采用n混合模型（n-mixture models）对调查数据进行分析。本次调查记录到了该生境已知的全部爬行动物物种，但仅绿蜥蜴、沙蜥蜴与匈牙利草原蝰达到了详细分析所需的最低观测样本量。结果显示，放牧对匈牙利草原蝰与沙蜥蜴的种群丰度具有显著正向影响，而刈割以及刈割+放牧轮作模式则产生负向影响；各类草原管理模式均未对绿蜥蜴的种群丰度产生显著作用。本研究结果表明，放牧是针对濒危物种匈牙利草原蝰与沙蜥蜴的最优草原管理模式。为保障保护生境管理的有效性，维持草原伴生爬行动物的健康种群，应将刈割与刈割+放牧轮作模式替换为放牧模式。