Pheasants and fragmentation: positive effects of landscape interspersion.

Abstract

This paper reanalyses previously published data to investigate the effects of habitat composition and interspersion on territorial male pheasant density. Counts of territorial males per km² from 147 separate sites were related to the proportions of four habitat types within each area; woodland, arable farmland, grassland and others. Territories were most abundant in areas with 10-40% woodland, 10-40% grassland and 30-80% arable farmland. After removing the effects of habitat composition, the irregularity of the woodland edges within an area explained a significant proportion of the residual variance. Pheasants are clearly a species associated with the intimate interspersion of different habitat types. The consequences for management and the historical effects on British farmland are discussed.