Habitat selection of European badger Meles meles in a highly fragmented forest landscape in Northern Italy: The importance of hedgerows and agro-forestry systems

The European badger is a common and widespread species considered as a least-concern species
by the IUCN. However, there are still many threats for its conservation, especially in areas where
the original landscape has been highly modified by humans. The aim of this study was to define
the habitat selection criteria of the European badger in a highly modified lowland area in northern
Italy, with particular attention to the role that hedgerows and agro-forestry systems could have for
this species. The study area is a typical lowland cultivated landscape, where small forest remnants
are scattered within an agricultural matrix mainly characterized by intensive cereal crops and areas
devoted to agro-forestry. Data collection followed a stratified random sampling design and consisted
of detecting the presence of the species within 62 2-km cells. Presence signs were spotted
along linear transect from April to September 2014. We investigated the association between species
presence/abundance and the environmental variables measured within each cell by means of
resource selection probability functions using GLMs. In our study area the European badger significantly
depended on broadleaved forests, but the species also selected traditional poplar plantations,
short rotation forestry, reforestations, and hedgerows. Conversely, the species avoided meadows
with shrubs and trees and areas with scarce or absent vegetation. In conclusion, the European
badger seemed to benefit from agricultural landscape elements, such as agro-forestry systems and
hedgerows, which probably serve as forest surrogates for this species, both in providing food resources
and suitable sett locations.