Breeding ecology of Yellow Wagtails Motacilla flava in an arable landscape dominated by autumn-sown crops

Capsule Yellow Wagtails successfully raised two consecutive broods in landscapes dominated by autumn-sown crops and did not require spring crops or fallow plots for later nesting.

Aims To assess whether arable landscapes dominated by winter cropping provide habitats that allow Yellow Wagtails to raise two successful broods. To assess the utility of spring cultivated agri-environment fallow plots as a nesting and foraging habitat for Yellow Wagtails.

Methods Nesting success and foraging behaviour of Yellow Wagtails was monitored on lowland arable farmland dominated by winter cropping during two successive breeding seasons.

Results Yellow Wagtails successfully raised first and second broods mainly in winter cereals, with later nests being more successful. Some nests were initiated in bean fields where egg-stage failure rates were high, probably as a consequence of depredation. Fallow plots were not used for nesting but, along with other areas of sparse vegetation, were regularly used for foraging.

Conclusions Yellow Wagtails breeding at relatively low densities achieved high rates of reproductive success in a landscape dominated by winter cereals and with few spring-sown crops. This study suggests that spring-sown crops may not be necessary for Yellow Wagtails to rear two successful broods each summer within arable landscapes.     

Changing grass height alters foraging site selection by wintering farmland birds

Grassland is a valuable habitat for many farmland bird species, some of which have declined in Europe. Successful management of this habitat is important to benefit these species. Recent studies have suggested little correlation between food abundance and bird use in grassland; instead providing access to food may be crucial. We tested the importance of manipulating sward height (via mowing) on the distribution of wintering birds in agriculturally managed grass fields using two within-field experimental designs. In experiment 1, we investigated the effect of two treatments (mown once and control). In experiment 2, we investigated the effects of four treatments (mown once early, mown once late, mown early and late, and control).Mown plots supported higher abundances of foraging kestrels, thrushes and starlings. In contrast meadow pipits and grey herons preferred unmown plots with longer grass. These differences are probably explained by differing anti-predation strategies, increased food abundance for species that prefer above-ground invertebrates (e.g. more food for meadow pipits on longer swards) and increased food accessibility on short grass swards (e.g. for starling, thrush spp.). There were limited effects of multiple mowing events on plot use suggesting one early winter mowing treatment may suffice to create favourable conditions for species that prefer shorter swards.Providing grassland heterogeneity should benefit a range of wintering farmland birds. Although we use mowing to change grass sward height, our findings may also apply at other times of year when livestock grazing may be a more practical solution.     

The effect of sward height and drainage on Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris and Northern Lapwings Vanellus vanellus foraging in grassland habitats

Agricultural change is often cited as a causal factor in the decline of the UK's farmland birds because bird declines have mirrored changes in agricultural practices. Although much is known about the mechanisms driving population declines on arable systems, mechanisms in grassland systems are relatively poorly studied, despite receiving a similar degree of intensification. Agricultural intensification may affect bird declines by reducing food abundance or accessibility, forager mobility or predation risk. Here we examine experimentally the effects of sward height on the foraging behaviour of adult Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris , and the effects of sward height and drainage on the behaviour of Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus chicks. Both species are declining across the UK and both forage in farmed grassland habitats, but they differ in their foraging methods because Starlings probe for soil invertebrates whereas Lapwing chicks glean prey from surfaces. Overall, after controlling for prey abundance, short swards were found to be more productive for both species. Prey capture rate within foraging bouts did not differ with sward height for Starlings, but Starlings spent more time foraging on short swards and captured 33.2% more prey. Starlings walked more steps on short swards. Lapwing chick foraging rates declined as sward height increased. Soil moisture was not found to be a predictor of Lapwing chick foraging rates within the observed range. Our results suggest that short swards are a more profitable foraging habitat for soil and surface invertebrate feeders. Short swards may facilitate surface prey detection, improve forager mobility and increase foraging time by altering vigilance patterns. Provision of short swards in areas where these are lacking could be simple method of improving foraging habitats for grassland birds.     

Mismatches between habitat preferences and risk avoidance for birds in intensive Mediterranean farmland

Land use intensification may create habitats that organisms perceive as suitable, but where reproduction or survival is insufficient to maintain self-sustaining populations. Such conditions may qualify as ecological traps, but their existence is often hard to prove. Here, we provide a practical framework to evaluate a potential ecological trap resulting from mismatch between habitat preferences and predation risk, focusing on ground-nesting farmland birds of conservation concern. The framework is based on species-specific associations with safe or unsafe habitat types (i.e. field and landscape types with high or low nest survival), and the occurrence of risk avoidance (i.e. negative responses to predator abundances or to nest failure rates after controlling for habitat effects). Bird densities were far more influenced by field characteristics than landscape context. Corn bunting and fan-tailed warbler were associated with tall swards (safe habitats), and did not show risk avoidance. Tawny pipit and and Galerida larks were associated with short swards (unsafe habitats), with the former avoiding fields with high nest predation rates, and the later avoiding high mongoose abundances. Short-toed lark was associated with fields with short swards and low nest trampling rates. Results suggest that short-toed lark may be the most vulnerable to ecological trapping, because it nests on unsafe habitats and did not show predation risk avoidance. Our approach provides a practical first step to infer vulnerability to a potential ecological trap, though further research is needed to confirm this effect. Management actions increasing nest survival in short sward fields will likely favour grassland bird conservation in intensive Mediterranean farmland.     

What attracts birds to newly mown pasture? Decoupling the action of mowing from the provision of short swards

Many bird species flock to forage on newly mown grass swards. Several potential benefits are offered by such swards, including increases in prey availability (flush of foliar prey, reduced physical obstruction to surface and soil prey) and a foraging environment with fewer visual obstructions, so allowing predators to be detected more easily. We performed a field experiment using captive Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris foraging in bottomless enclosures on newly mown swards (within 1 h) and old mown swards (48 h). We performed the experiment during winter months and standardized sward height to exclude other confounding effects in order to determine the temporal benefits of mowing for species foraging on soil invertebrates. We found no differences in the vigilance or time budgets of Starlings foraging on newly or old mown swards. Intake efficiency (prey captured per 100 roots) was greater on newly mown swards, suggesting that Starlings used less energy to obtain their prey on that substrate. It is possible that mowing alters the microclimate of the soil and sward, causing invertebrate availability to decline over time, which causes the lower foraging efficiency. Mowing is a technique often used to manipulate grassland habitats in ecological research; it has recently been advocated as a conservation management tool for wintering bird populations. We suggest that care should be taken when designing such studies to avoid confounding the factors under investigation with temporal changes in prey availability.     

Farming for pests? Local and landscape-scale effects of grassland management on rabbit densities

In recent decades in the UK, there has been an increasing trend in numbers of the European wild rabbit, a significant agricultural pest typically associated with grassland habitats. However, the relationship between rabbit abundance and grassland management, in particular grazing, has not been sufficiently explained. We studied rabbit densities in seven pasture-dominated sites in north-east England between autumn and spring in two consecutive years, and used generalised linear mixed models and generalised additive models to explore relationships between habitat and management variables and rabbit abundance at local (field) and landscape scales. At the local scale high rabbit densities were significantly associated with small fields and the very short, homogeneous swards created by intensive sheep grazing during autumn and winter. At the landscape scale, high rabbit numbers were associated with sites with most field margins and a predator removal policy. Our results indicate that landscape management may play a central role in explaining rabbit abundance and distribution in grasslands. We suggest that current pasture management may create favourable conditions for high rabbit densities, and consequently boost numbers of this significant pest species.     

Properties of shrubforest edges: a case study from South Hungary

Knowledge on edge properties is important from a conservation perspective. Our study was carried out in the ancient vegetation mosaic of the Villány Mts, South-Hungary. Sampling was conducted along eight transects, each running from a rock sward through a shrubforest patch into another rock sward. Unlike most studies, we identified edge position objectively, using a moving split-window analysis. Five habitat types along each transect were distinguished: north-facing rock sward interior, north-facing edge, shrubforest interior, south-facing edge, and south-facing rock sward interior. In the forty 2 m² plots, a total of 157 species were found. Species richness and Shannon-diversity of the edges was higher than those of the shrubforest interiors, but not significantly different from the rock swards. Cover did not differ significantly among habitat types. We found only a few edge-related species. No differences between differently-oriented edges were revealed. Species composition of the edges was influenced mostly by the rock sward matrix. We hypothesize that ecological conditions of the edges resemble those of the rock sward interiors. Thus, sward species can penetrate into shrubforest edges, entailing a similar composition of edges and rock swards, resulting in similar diversities. Edges might be viewed as refugia for valuable plants of rock swards.     

Effects of Sward Height, Gap Size, and Slug Grazing on Emergence and Establishment of Trollius europaeus (Globeflower)

Abstract To determine the effects of sward height and gap size on the emergence and subsequent development of Trollius europaeus, seeds were introduced into artificially created gaps in mown and unmown wet meadow grassland in Ayr, Scotland. Emergence and establishment of nondormant seed (previously leached in running tap water and soaked in gibberellic acid) placed in a range of circular gaps (25 mm, 50 mm with and without root barrier, 100 and 200 mm diameter) were monitored over 305 days. Trollius demonstrated high field emergence (mean, 46% of viable seed sown) in this experiment. Emergence was not significantly affected by either sward height or gap size, although emergence was greater in mown swards. The critical factor determining subsequent survival of seedlings was slug predation rather than sward height or gap size. However, losses due to slug predation were significantly greater in unmown swards, resulting in more seedlings in mown swards. One hundred eleven days after sowing (September) seedling numbers had declined substantially in both unmown and mown swards, and by day 305 (April) seedlings were extinct in both sward types. The implications of the research for the restoration and management of T. europaeus are discussed.     

The effect of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) grazing damage on the growth, botanical composition and yield of a ryegrass re-seed

A perennial ryegrass sward was established in the autumn of 1989 in an enclosed 0.3 ha site and was exposed to captive wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) grazing. Rabbit numbers were varied from 16 rabbits ha^-1 in winter to 55 rabbits ha^-1 corresponding to natural fluctuations in the field. The original sward was grown for three seasons (1989/1990 to 1990/1991) and a range of grazing regimes imposed. In 1989/1990 four grazing regimes were arranged in a replicated split block design in the experimental area. These were ungrazed, winter grazed, spring grazed and totally grazed. In the second year of the experiment all plots were exposed to grazing with the exception of the originally protected plots. This was to examine the effects of longer-term grazing damage on a ryegrass sward. In the final year half of all treatments were protected to study recovery of a sward which had been damaged previously. The remainder of the plots were exposed to grazing. Three cuts were harvested in each year and the productivity assessed in terms of yield and botanical composition. There was a significant reduction in ryegrass proportion in grazed swards following the first winter of grazing, while clover, other grasses and weeds were enhanced. The promotion of clover content in grazed swards was a feature throughout the 3 yr of the study. In the second year, protection of grazed swards led to a restoration of yields, although the botanical composition remained altered. The exposure of previously ungrazed plots in the final year of the experiment showed that these swards were particularly attractive to rabbits and they suffered the greatest yield losses relative to the protected plots at the first cut in 1991. In this year dry weather conditions were experienced following the first cut and demonstrated that yield losses are exacerbated when rabbit grazing is compounded with adverse growing conditions. The results overall indicate that protection of ryegrass swards at the establishment phase is important, but that a degree of recovery is possible by providing protection at a later stage, although the ryegrass component is still impaired in swards which suffer early damage.     

Nitrogen response efficiency of a managed and phytodiverse temperate grassland

Aims

Our goal was to assess how management and sward functional diversity affect nitrogen response efficiency (NRE), the ratio of plant biomass production to supply of available nitrogen (N) in temperate grassland.

Methods

A three-factorial design was employed: three sward compositions, two mowing frequencies, and two fertilization treatments.

Results

NRE was largely influenced by fertilization followed by mowing frequency and sward composition. NRE was larger in unfertilized than fertilized plots, in plots cut thrice than plots cut once per year, and in control swards than in monocot- or dicot-enhanced swards. Fertilization decreased NRE through decreases in both N uptake efficiency (plant N uptake per supply of available N) and N use efficiency (NUE, biomass produced per plant N uptake) whereas mowing frequency and sward composition affected NRE through N uptake efficiency rather than NUE. The largest NRE in the control sward with 70 % monocots and 30 % dicots attests that these proportions of functional groups were best adapted in this grassland ecosystem.

Conclusions

Optimum NRE may not be a target of most farmers, but it is an appropriate tool to evaluate the consequences of grassland management practices, which farmers may employ to maximize profit, on environmental quality.     

Bird Communities and Biomass Yields in Potential Bioenergy Grasslands

Demand for bioenergy is increasing, but the ecological consequences of bioenergy crop production on working lands remain unresolved. Corn is currently a dominant bioenergy crop, but perennial grasslands could produce renewable bioenergy resources and enhance biodiversity. Grassland bird populations have declined in recent decades and may particularly benefit from perennial grasslands grown for bioenergy. We asked how breeding bird community assemblages, vegetation characteristics, and biomass yields varied among three types of potential bioenergy grassland fields (grass monocultures, grass-dominated fields, and forb-dominated fields), and assessed tradeoffs between grassland biomass production and bird habitat. We also compared the bird communities in grassland fields to nearby cornfields. Cornfields had few birds compared to perennial grassland fields. Ten bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) were observed in perennial grassland fields. Bird species richness and total bird density increased with forb cover and were greater in forb-dominated fields than grass monocultures. SGCN density declined with increasing vertical vegetation density, indicating that tall, dense grassland fields managed for maximum biomass yield would be of lesser value to imperiled grassland bird species. The proportion of grassland habitat within 1 km of study sites was positively associated with bird species richness and the density of total birds and SGCNs, suggesting that grassland bioenergy fields may be more beneficial for grassland birds if they are established near other grassland parcels. Predicted total bird density peaked below maximum biomass yields and predicted SGCN density was negatively related to biomass yields. Our results indicate that perennial grassland fields could produce bioenergy feedstocks while providing bird habitat. Bioenergy grasslands promote agricultural multifunctionality and conservation of biodiversity in working landscapes.     

Dung‐associated arthropods influence foraging ecology and habitat selection in Black‐necked Cranes (Grus nigricollis) on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Variation in grassland vegetation structure influences the habitat selection of insectivorous birds. This variation presents a trade‐off for insectivorous predators: Arthropod abundance increases with vegetation height and heterogeneity, but access to arthropod prey items decreases. In contrast, grazing by large herbivores reduces and homogenizes vegetation, decreasing total arthropod abundance and diversity. However, the presence of livestock dung may help counteract the overall reduction in invertebrates by increasing arthropods associated with dung. It is unclear, however, how the presence of arthropod prey in dung contributes to overall habitat selection for insectivorous birds or how dung‐associated arthropods affect trade‐offs between vegetation structure, arthropod abundance, and access to prey. To explore these relationships, we studied habitat selection of the Black‐necked Crane (Grus nigricollis), a large omnivorous bird that breeds on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. We assessed the relationships between habitat selection of cranes and vegetation structure, arthropod abundance, and the presence of yak dung. We found that Black‐necked Cranes disproportionately foraged in grassland patches with short sward height, low sward height heterogeneity, and high numbers of dry yak dung, despite these habitats having lower total arthropod abundance. Although total arthropod abundance is lower, these habitats are supplemented with dry yak dung, which are associated with coleopteran larvae, making dung pats an indicator of food resources for breeding Black‐necked Cranes. Coleopteran adults and larvae in yak dung appear to be an important factor influencing the habitat selection of Black‐necked Cranes and should be considered when assessing grassland foraging trade‐offs of insectivorous birds. This research provides new insights into the role of livestock dung in defining foraging habitats and resources for insectivorous predators.     

Increasing habitat connectivity in agricultural landscapes as a weed management strategy reconciling ecology and agronomy

While studies have explored how habitat amount drives weed assemblages in agroecosystems, knowledge remains limited of the effects of habitat connectivity. The response-effect trait framework provides insights into the mechanisms underpinning the relationship between landscape structure and the taxonomic diversity and abundance of weed assemblages. This study evaluated how habitat connectivity and habitat amount affect weed diversity and abundance in winter cereal fields, and whether these effects are driven by the functional composition of weed assemblages. We sampled weeds in 27 winter cereal fields. We measured habitat connectivity and habitat amount provided by wooded, grassland and cropland elements. We selected five traits related to the dispersal, establishment, and competitive abilities of weed species likely to respond to landscape structure: seed number per plant, type of reproduction, seed dry mass, plant vegetative height and seed germination rate. The functional composition of weed assemblages was assessed using community weighted mean trait values. Weed diversity and abundance were used as proxies of weed management. The taxonomic approach did not reveal any effect of landscape structure on weed diversity and abundance. Only the grassland elements that contributed to habitat connectivity, and to a lesser extent to habitat amount, drove the functional composition of weed assemblages. High habitat amount favoured species with many seeds, while high habitat connectivity favoured species with fewer seeds, a higher ability to reproduce vegetatively and higher seed germination rates. In turn, higher seed germination rates increased weed evenness and reduced weed abundance. Some of these relationships were influenced by the presence of rare species. Overall, high connectivity provided by grassland elements increases weed evenness and reduces weed abundance by shaping weed functional composition. Our study suggests that land-use planning policies that enhance the connectivity provided by grassland elements could be considered as a weed management strategy reconciling ecology and agronomy.     

Nitrogen retention efficiency and nitrogen losses of a managed and phytodiverse temperate grassland

Maintaining nitrogen retention efficiency (NRE) is crucial in minimizing N losses when intensifying management of temperate grasslands. Our aim was to evaluate how grassland management practices and sward compositions affect NRE (1 − N losses/soil available N), defined as the efficiency with which soil available N is retained in an ecosystem. A three-factorial grassland management experiment was established with two fertilization treatments (without and combined N, phosphorus and potassium fertilization), two mowing frequencies (cut once and thrice per year) and three sward compositions (control, monocot- and dicot-enhanced swards). We measured N losses as leaching and nitrous oxide emissions, and soil available N as gross N mineralization rates. Fertilization increased N losses due to increased nitrification and decreased microbial N immobilization, and consequently decreased NRE. Intensive mowing partly dampened high N losses following fertilization. Sward compositions influenced NRE but not N losses: control swards that developed for decades under extensive management had the highest NRE, whereas monocot-enhanced sward had the lowest NRE. NRE was highly correlated with microbial NH₄⁺ immobilization and microbial biomass and only marginally correlated with plant N uptake, underlining the importance of microbial N retention in the soil-plant system. Microbial N retention is reflected in NRE but not in indices commonly used to reflect plant response. NRE was able to capture the effects of sward composition and fertilization whereas N losses were only sensitive to fertilization; thus, NRE is a better index when evaluating environmental sustainability of sward compositions and management practices of grasslands.     

Sward height and bite size affect the functional response of barnacle geese Branta leucopsis

Intake rate, the rate in which herbivores can process their food, is presumed to be an important factor in habitat selection down to the scale of the foraging patch. Much attention has been given to the selection of swards of high nutritional quality, but much less has been given to the influences of sward structure on patch selection in small herbivores. In this study we tested the effects of sward density and height on the functional foraging response of barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis. The functional response curve for herbivores describes how intake rate is affected by food availability. We conducted feeding trials to determine intake rate and bite size of barnacle geese on experimentally manipulated swards. Results indicate that intake rate is mainly dependent on sward height and that there is a strong correlation between bite size and intake rate. Sward density does not influence the rate of food consumption; it is, however, a crucial parameter affecting potential total yield. We conclude that bite size is the crucial parameter influencing intake rate. Bite size is explained both by sward height and individual differences in bill morphology. Furthermore, intake rate seems to be dependent on the physical structure of the grass species consumed.     

The demography of Yellow Wagtails Motacilla flava on abandoned fields in northern European Russia

Capsule Apparent survival rates of Yellow Wagtails breeding in abandoned fields in Russia are determined by previous breeding success.

Aims To examine apparent survival and its link to previous breeding success in Yellow Wagtails breeding in abandoned fields in the Vologda region, northern European Russia.

Methods We ringed and measured apparent survival of Yellow Wagtails at two abandoned agricultural sites over eight years (2005–2012). We modelled the impact of age, nest stage, and time of season on daily nest survival rates.

Results Predation was the main cause of nest failure. Nest daily survival rate was highest at the beginning of the breeding season. Overall nest survival probability was 0.40?±?0.02. Adult apparent survival after successful breeding was 0.42?±?0.06 and after unsuccessful breeding this was 0.13?±?0.06.

Conclusion Reproductive success can be regarded as the crucial demographic parameter of the local Yellow Wagtail population in northern European Russia. Apparent survival after successful breeding is significantly higher than after unsuccessful breeding, because unsuccessful breeders probably move to new breeding sites the following year. High adult survival may be particularly important to Yellow Wagtail population dynamics in the study region, because second breeding attempts are apparently unusual.     

Manipulating the species composition of permanent grasslands—A new approach to biodiversity experiments

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions of grasslands has received increasing attention in recent years. So far, experiments were mostly conducted in experimental grasslands. We used a different approach on permanent grassland by applying herbicides selective against either dicots or monocots. This allowed us to alter plant species composition and evenness and to obtain altered constellations of functional group abundances without deliberate introduction of new species or continued disturbance by weeding. The resulting swards were subjected to different management intensities in terms of cutting regime and fertilization. Compared to the baseline data before herbicide application, within one year, the combination of treatments, especially the herbicide application, led to a broad variety of swards with the herbicide treatment alone accounting for more than 25% of the variance in composition. We conclude that the application of specific herbicides is a method highly suitable for creating different sward types, because the swards differed significantly in species number, evenness and composition of functional groups without showing signs of disturbance, as neither the area of open soil nor the proportion of annual colonizer species increased.     

The effects of habitat structure on predation risk of birds in agricultural landscapes

It has been suggested that increased predation rates may rival habitat alteration as a causal agent in farmland bird population declines. Such a view may be over-simplistic, however, as changes in habitat structure may influence habitat selection and foraging efficiency through their influence on perceived and actual predation risk. We review evidence from the literature on the effects of habitat structure on predation risk of foraging and nesting birds and apply these principles to investigate the likely effects on the 20 species that comprise the UK Government's 'Farmland Bird Index'. Shorter vegetation is likely to enhance foraging efficiency and reduce predation risk (when ground foraging) for 15 of the 20 species. However, within grassland systems longer vegetation is known to enhance food supplies (e.g. Tipulid larvae and voles) of several farmland bird species and so mosaics of short and long vegetation may provide the optimum conditions for most species (e.g. Lapwing Vanellus vanellus , Starling Sturnus vulgaris , Barn Owl Tyto alba ). Agricultural intensification has encouraged uniform dense swards, thus reducing habitat diversity, and agri-environment schemes that provide heterogeneous sward structure may thus facilitate farmland bird conservation. Intensification has also resulted in less dense hedgerows; although a reversal of this trend may improve foraging efficiency for many species, it may be detrimental to a smaller number of species that prefer shorter, less dense hedges for nesting. Before these tentative conclusions can be confirmed, more research is required that considers how the effects of habitat structure on individuals is likely to translate into population-level impacts.     

The allometry of patch selection in ruminants

An axiomatic feature of food consumption by animals is that intake rate and prey abundance are positively related. While this has been demonstrated rigorously for large herbivores, it is apparent from patch selection trials that grazers paradoxically tend to prefer short, sparse swards to tall, dense swards. Indeed, migratory herbivores often shift from areas of high to low sward biomass during the growing season. As nutritional quality is an inverse function of grass abundance, herbivores appear to sacrifice short-term intake for nutritional gains obtainable by eating sparse forage of higher quality. Explicit models of this trade-off suggest that individual ruminants maximize daily rates of energy gain by choosing immature swards of intermediate biomass. As body mass is related positively to both ruminant cropping rates and digestibility, there should be an allometric link between grass abundance and energy maximization, providing a tool for predicting patterns of herbivore habitat selection. We used previously published studies to develop a synthetic model of trade-offs between forage abundance and quality predicting that optimal sward biomass should scale allometrically with body size. The model predicts size-related variation in habitat selection observed in a guild of grazing ungulates in the Serengeti ecosystem.     

Facilitative and competitive interactions between sympatric cattle, red deer and wild boar in Dutch woodland pastures

Use of cattle-grazed and ungrazed woodland pastures by red deerCervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 and wild boarSus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 was investigated monthly by measuring dung-deposition rates. CattleBos taurus grazed pastures year-round, with peak intensities during the growing season (May–September). Red deer and wild boar grazed pastures primarily during autumn and winter (October–April) when cattle occupancy was at a minimum. The lower occupancy of cattle in pastures from November to April was interpreted as the result of competition with red deer. Mean sward height in this period fell below 6.5 cm. In autumn and winter a negative relationship was found for red deer and wild boar occupancy with sward height, which indicated that red deer and wild boar preferred swards previously grazed by cattle. At the start of the growing season, when cattle occupancy in the pastures increased, red deer switched their habitat preference and almost totally disappeared from pastures to use alternative feeding grounds. Interpretation of the results lead to the conclusion that facilitative and competitive interactions occurred between sympatric cattle and red deer in woodland pastures, and to some extent also between cattle and wild boar.