Density of red and roe deer and their distribution in relation to different habitat characteristics in a floodplain forest

Density and distribution of red deer and roe deer in relation to habitat structure and feed sources was studied using simple faeces transects and monitoring plots during winter in a floodplain forest along the Morava River, Czech Republic. Deer densities detected on the plots and parallel simple faeces transects were comparable, so we used the faeces transects, thus enabling us to gather data from a larger part of the studied area. Densities of both species were relatively high (9.6 and 7.0 ind./square km for red and roe deer, resp.). Red deer preferred forest stands with dense (60-80%) cover and a diversified shrub layer. Roe deer mainly used old stands aged 50-99 years with a high cover of canopy layer and conversely low cover of herb layer, dominated by bramble. A positive relationship between the distributions of both species was detected. Inter-specific spatial interference was not observed, despite the high population densities.