Mollen (Talpa europaea) in wegbermen: een vooronderzoek in bermstroken in het agrarisch gebied van Zeeland

摘要

Common moles (Talpa europaea) in road verges; a preliminary survey in roadside plots in the agricultural area ofZeeland.In this study, we investigated the functions of road verges for common moles (Talpa europaea). We studied the relations between thedensity of mole-hills and (1) the width of roadside plots, (2) the type of hinterland (grassland, arable field, forest, built-up area), and (3) the main food sources, i.e. earthworms and other invertebrates. In 1224 rectangular, 50 m long road verge study plots, alongside 14 roads in an agricultural region of Zeeland, in the SW-Netherlands, mole-hills were counted. At seven roads plots showing the highest densities of mole-hills, 0.25 m2 of earth was digged out to a depth of 15 cm and hand-searched forearthworms and other invertebrates. Subsequently, deeper living invertebrates were collected after spraying the unearthed plots with mustard powder, forcing them to move to the surface. The outcome of the study revealed that the density of mole-hills per 50 m2 was higher with increasing width of the road-plot. The highest average density of mole-hills was found in verges next to a meadow, while in verges next to woodland the average numbers were almost equal to those next to arable land. The lowest average numbers of mole-hills were found in plots adjacent to built-up areas (mostly barnyards or gardens). In seven roadside plots that were selected by having the highest densities of mole-hills, earthworms showed a positive (0.75) and other invertebratesshowed a negative correlation (-0.36) with mole-hill density.