The Tree-Shrub Belts in Bulgarian Farmlands: Potential Refuges for Wildlife?

There are many natural tree-shrub belts among farmlands in Bulgaria. However, no studies have focused explicitly on the species inhabiting there. The aim of our study was to explore the possibility of using the natural tree-shrub belts in agricultural areas as refuges for medium-sized and larger mammals and birds. Camera trapping was used to record species in the Upper Thracian Plain and the Kazanlak Basin. The devices were set facing animal paths, in dense tree-shrub belts between the farmlands of five settlements for the period November 2021 – April 2024. A total of 1737 independent registrations of 14 mammal and 15 bird species were obtained. We recorded 27 species of wildlife from 21 families of native fauna, excluding stray dogs and cats. The golden jackal (Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758), the European badger (Meles meles Linnaeus, 1758) and the European hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) were registered at all camera stations. Among the 17 established bird species there was a series of synanthropic species, such as the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica Linnaeus, 1758), Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius Linnaeus, 1758), blackbird (Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758), common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus Linnaeus, 1758) and tits (Parus spp.). The tree-shrub belts in the study area appear to function successfully as oases for many wildlife species among local agricultural ecosystems. These belts could also represent travel corridors that enable the movement of wildlife across an agricultural landscape.