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Guidelines for Wildlife and Traffic in the Carpathians

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Wildlife and Traffic in the Carpathians Guidelines how to minimize the impact of transport infrastructure development on nature in the Carpathian countries Wildlife and Traffic in the Carpathians Guidelines how to minimize the impact of transport infrastructure development on nature in the Carpathian countries Part of Output 3.2 Planning Toolkit TRANSGREEN Project “Integrated Transport and Green Infrastructure Planning in the Danube-Carpathian Region for the Benefit of People and Nature” Danube Transnational Programme, DTP1-187-3.1 April 2019 Project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) www.interreg-danube.eu/transgreen Authors Václav Hlaváč (Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, Member of the Carpathian Convention Work- ing Group for Sustainable Transport, co-author of “COST 341 Habitat Fragmentation due to Trans- portation Infrastructure, Wildlife and Traffic, A European Handbook for Identifying Conflicts and Designing Solutions” and “On the permeability of roads for wildlife: a handbook, 2002”) Petr Anděl (Consultant, EVERNIA s.r.o. Liberec, Czech Republic, co-author of “On the permeability of roads for wildlife: a handbook, 2002”) Jitka Matoušová (Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic) Ivo Dostál (Transport Research Centre, Czech Republic) Martin Strnad (Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, specialist in ecological connectivity) Contributors Andriy-Taras Bashta (Biologist, Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians, National Academy of Science in Ukraine) Katarína Gáliková (National Motorway Company, Slovakia) Barbara Immerová (WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, Slovakia) Ján Kadlečík (State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, Member of the Carpathian Convention Imple- mentation Committee and the Working Group on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological and Landscape Diversity) Radu Moț (Zarand Association, initiator of GreenWEB – Connecting people within connected landscapes, Romania) Cristian Remus Papp (WWF Romania) Anatoliy Pavelko (Consultant, lawyer, EIA and environmental specialist, Ukraine) András Szirányi (National Infrastructure Developing Private Company Ltd., Hungary) Tereza Thompson (State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic) András Weiperth (Szent Istvan University, Hungary) Wildlife and Traffic in the Carpathians - Guidelines 5 Supervision Elke Hahn (Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology, IENE – Infra Eco Network Europe Gover- nance Board Member, Member of the Conference of European Directors of Roads) Lazaros Georgiadis (Biologist, Environmental Consultant, IENE – Infra Eco Network Europe Governance Board Member, Greece) Layout and graphic design: Alex Spineanu (Graphic designer, Romania) Marián Špacír (SPECTRA - Centre of Excellance EU) with the support of Catalina Murariu (WWF Romania) English proofreading: Private Language School BS SCHOOL, Ondrej Straka, BSBA Published by: The State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, Banská Bystrica, 2019 Acknowledgement This publication was elaborated as part of the Output 3.2 Planning Toolkit of the TRANSGREEN “In- tegrated Transport and Green Infrastructure Planning in the Danube Carpathian Region for the Ben- efit of People and Nature” project (DTP1-187-3.1, January 2017 – June 2019) funded by the Danube Transnational Programme through European Regional Development Funds. Its development was led by Václav Hlaváč (Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic) with support from SPECTRA – Centre of Excellence of EU – Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia (Maroš Finka, Vladimír Ondrejička, Milan Husár) and Hildegard Meyer (WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme) under the supervision of Elke Hahn (Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Tech- nology of Austria, IENE Steering Governance Board Member) and Lazaros Georgiadis (Biologist, Envi- ronmental Consultant, IENE Steering Governance Board Member, Greece). These Guidelines are to a large extent based on a former publication: COST 341 Habitat Fragmenta- tion due to Transportation Infrastructure, Wildlife and Traffic - A European Handbook for Identifying Conflicts and Designing Solutions. Authors appreciate the generosity of all photographers who provided suitable images, and Pep Gas- par from ARTENTRAÇ & Ministry for Ecological Transition, Spain for providing graphic illustrations for free. Authors gratefully acknowl¬edge the efforts of all TRANSGREEN project partners and stakehold- ers within the frame of the Carpathian Convention and trust in the potential benefit from the result. 6 Project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) www.interreg-danube.eu/transgreen Citation Hlaváč, V., Anděl, P., Matoušová, J., Dostál, I., Strnad, M., Immerová, B., Kadlečík, J., Meyer, H., Moț, R., Pavelko, A., Hahn, E., Georgiadis, L. (2019): Wildlife and Traffic in the Carpathians. Guidelines how to minimize impact of transport infrastructure development on nature in the Carpathian countries. Danube Transnational Programme TRANSGREEN Project, The State Nature Conservancy of the Slo- vak Republic, Banská Bystrica, 2019, 228 pp. ISBN 978-80-8184-068-5 This publication may be reproduced as a whole or in parts and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without any special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowl- edgement or the resource is made. This publication may in no case be used for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the main author. Disclaimer The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not express views of any single participating organisation, or the views of one individual, nor the positions of the European Union. About TRANSGREEN TRANSGREEN means a better connected Carpathian region with transport infrastructure that takes nature into account. The project aims to contribute to safer and environmentally-friendly road and rail networks that are being developed in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. www.interreg-danube.eu/transgreen Output 3.2 Planning Toolkit consists of the following parts: ◾ Wildlife and Traffic in the Carpathians - Guidelines how to minimize the impact of transport infrastructure development on nature in the Carpathian countries ◾ TRANSGREEN Policy Recommendations on integrated road and rail transportation planning in the Carpathians ◾ State of the Art Report and Gap Analysis in the field of environmentally-friendly transport infra- structure development ◾ Keeping Nature Connected – Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Integrated Green Infrastructure Planning ◾ Public Participation – Scheme for an integrated linear transport infrastructure development/ planning ◾ Tool for registering animal-vehicle collisions Wildlife and Traffic in the Carpathians - Guidelines 7 Table of contents FOREWORD 10 1 Introduction 12 2 Users’ Guide 16 2.1 Part of the TRANSGREEN project 17 2.2 Main target groups 18 2.3 How to use the Guidelines 18 2.4 Following the IENE Principles for sustainable linear transport infrastructure development 20 3 Basic Terms 22 4 Effects of Transport Infrastructure on Nature 28 4.1 Primary ecological effects 29 4.2 Secondary ecological effects 39 4.3 Impact of particular components of roads and railways 40 4.4 Life cycle stages of a road and railway 42 5 Particularities of the Carpathians 44 5.1 Natural conditions of the Carpathian countries 45 5.2 Transportation infrastructure and traffic in the Carpathian countries 48 5.3 Settlement and traditional life in the Carpathian countries 55 6 Biota and Ecological Connectivity, Demands of Different Fauna Groups on Infrastructure Permeability 58 6.1 Main types of habitats in the Carpathians with respect to their threat by transport infrastructure 59 6.2 Demands of various groups (categories) of animals on permeability of transport infrastructure 68 6.3 Connectivity of different types of habitats 74 6.4 Migration corridors for large mammals 81 6.5 Recommended mutual distances of fauna passages in different types of habitats 84 7 Legislative Aspects 86 7.1 European Directives and strategies, relevant conventions 87 7.2 National level legislation in respective Carpathian countries 93 8 Basic Steps and Processes for Ensuring Ecological Connectivity within Transport Infrastructure Development 100 8.1 General principles 101 8.2 Transport policy, delimiting transport corridors 104 8 8.3 Route selection 107 8.4 Preparation of a detailed project 111 8.5 Construction 119 8.6 Operation and maintenance 121 8.7 Approach to the specifics of individual types of transport infrastructure 123 8.8 Recapitulation of ensuring protection of wildlife in the process of preparing linear transport infrastructure 127 9 Integration of Linear Transport Infrastructure into the Surrounding Landscape 130 9.1 Alignment – recommendations for different types of landscape 131 9.2 Design solutions of particular technical components 137 10 Fauna Passages and Other Technical Solutions 144 10.1 General approach 145 10.2 Parameters of fauna passages and other technical measures according to the requirements of particular groups of species 150 10.3 Fauna passages 163 10.4 Avoiding and reducing animal mortality 180 10.5 Measures on roads for drivers (traffic measures) 187 11 Ecological Compensation 190 11.1 The concept of ecological compensation 191 11.2 Legal obligations 193 11.3 Types of compensation measures 194 11.4 Following activities 196 12 Monitoring the Impact of Transport on Nature 198 12.1
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  • Water Vole (Arvicola Amphibius) Abundance in Grassland Habitats of Glasgow

    Water Vole (Arvicola Amphibius) Abundance in Grassland Habitats of Glasgow

    The Glasgow Naturalist (online 2018) Volume 27, Part 1 Water vole (Arvicola amphibius) abundance in grassland habitats of Glasgow R.A. Stewart1, C. Jarrett1, C. Scott2, S.A. White1 & D.J. McCafferty3 1 Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK 2 Land and Environmental Services, Glasgow City Council, 231 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RX, Scotland, UK 3 Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Rowardennan, Glasgow, G63 0AW, Scotland, UK 1 E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT breeding season, demarcating the area with piles of Water vole (Arvicola amphibius) populations have droppings (latrines) and actively excluding other undergone a serious decline throughout the UK, and yet females, in contrast to the larger home range of the a stronghold of these small mammals is found in the males (Strachan & Moorhouse, 2006). The length of greater Easterhouse area of Glasgow. The water voles in habitat occupied is dependent on population density this location are mostly fossorial, living a largely with mean territory size measuring 30-150 m for subterranean existence in grasslands, rather than the females and 60-300 m for male home ranges at high and more typical semi-aquatic lifestyle in riparian habitats. low densities, respectively (Strachan & Moorhouse, In this study, we carried out capture-mark-recapture 2006). The mating season is triggered by increasing day surveys on water voles at two sites: Cranhill Park and length in early spring and extends from March through Tillycairn Drive.