Deciduous forest, habitat diversity and distance to water - but not forest edges - drive bat activity in a managed forest-farmland mosaic in south-eastern Sweden

Understanding how landscape composition and configuration influence bats near their northern range limit is essential for their conservation in managed northern European forested environments. We investigated this in a forest–farmland mosaic of south-eastern Sweden. Using passive acoustic recording stations at 128 points, we registered ~70 000 sound files across three foraging groups, with ~37 500 identified to nine species. Generalized linear models were used to assess responses of individual species, foraging groups, total acoustic activity and species richness to landscape variables and to generate exploratory predicted activity maps for each foraging group. Water bodies and high habitat diversity were most strongly associated with bat activity and species richness. Activity positively correlated with deciduous forests for Pipistrellus pygmaeus , Plecotus auritus , and edge space foragers, whereas higher activity occurred in conifer stands for Myotis daubentonii and Nyctalus noctula . Open space foragers, including Eptesicus nilssonii and N. noctula , were positively associated with crop fields. Contrary to expectations, edge density was not positively correlated with activity or richness, supporting the hypothesis that structurally abrupt edges typical of Swedish forest plantations offer limited value for most bat species. Habitat connectivity was high and showed no detectable association with activity, likely reflecting the high mobility of bats and the fine-grained landscape mosaic. Exploratory predicted activity maps revealed distinct spatial patterns of habitat use among foraging groups. Overall, our results corroborate previous recommendations that management should prioritize habitat diversity, deciduous woodlands, forest edge quality, and water bodies, thereby potentially enhancing habitat quality for bats in forest–farmland landscapes.