title

Feral cattle in the Chornobyl Biosphere Reserve: a combination of science and ethnoecology

author(s)

Sergiy Zhyla (orcid: 0000-0002-3471-6790)

affiliation

Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve (Ivankiv, Ukraine);
Polissia Nature Reserve (Selezivka, Ukraine)

bibliography

Theriologia Ukrainica. 2025. Vol. 29: 153–164.

DOI

language

Ukrainian, with English summary, titles of tables, captures to figs

abstract

In Ukraine, it is advisable to use a combination of science and the Polissian ethnoecology in landscape management and rewilding projects. The presence of feral cattle (Bos taurus, hereinafter referred to as cattle) in the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve (ChBR) requires a revision of the existing legislation and amendments to the Law of Ukraine On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine to grant a conservation status to feral cattle. Nowadays, due to the legal ban on grazing livestock in nature reserves, feral cattle are outlawed. According to the experience of cattle farming in Polissia, grazing and controlled fires should complement each other. Insufficient intensity of ungulate grazing and the lack of a natural fire regime in the ChBZ have led to problems with the restoration of natural meadows and caused the massive spread of bushgrass (Calamagrostis epigejos). The war in the ChRB intensified the processes of further feralisation of Przewalski’s horse (Equus przewalskii) and feral cattle. The spatial distribution of the phytomass in cattle grazing areas is highly mosaic and on only young, early successional vegetation in the form of a green lawn may remain on the very fertile soil, whereas dry grass may be absent. Such green lawns in the ChBR cover a small percentage of the area, but they are important for reducing fire danger and creating biodiversity hotspots. For cattle are not able to hoof the snow, they are quite vulnerable to the formation of hard crusts on the snow cover, and at this time they can consume a significant amount of branchy fodder from raspberries (Rubus idaeus), apple trees (Malus domestica), lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) and other trees. Feeding on branch fodder by cattle can be an indicator of a lack of herbaceous fodder and starvation. Restoration of heathland (Calluna vulgaris) would improve winter grazing in the ChBR and increase the habitat capacity not only for cattle but also for other ungulates. In the area of the Polissia Nature Reserve, forest farms in the past had a clear division of grazing between winter grazing on heather and summer grazing on blue molinia (Molinia caerulea). However, due to the long absence of fires and cattle grazing, the cereal-heather heathland has been reforested and has turned into mainly green moss pine forests.

keywords

feral cattle, ethnoecology, forest grazing, Polissia, rewilding, Ukraine

references

Adamski, Z., L. L. Blythe, L. Milella, S. A. Bufo. 2020. Biological activities of alkaloids: from toxicology to pharmacology. Toxins (Basel), 12 (4): 210. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12040210
Ahrestani, F. S., I. M. A. Heitkönig, H. Matsubayashi, H. H. T. Prins. 2016. Grazing and browsing by large herbivores in South and Southeast Asia. In: The Ecology of Large Herbivores in South and Southeast Asia. Springer, 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7570-0_4
Archibald, S. 2008. African grazing lawns — how fire, rainfall, and grazer numbers interact to affect grass community states. Journal Wildlife Management, 72: 492–501. https://doi.org/10.2193/2007-045
Bakker, J., S. E. Van Wieren. 1998. The Impact of Grazing on Plant Communities. In: W. De Vries, M. F. Bakker, J. P. Van Wieren (eds). Grazing and Conservation Management. Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 137–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4391-2_5
Bonacic, C., R. Almuna, J. T. Ibarra. 2019. Biodiversity conservation requires management of feral domestic animals. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 34: 683–686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.05.002
Brodie, J. F., K. H. Redford, D. F. Doak. 2018. Ecological function analysis: Incorporating species roles into conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 33: 840–850. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.08.013
Bussey, J., M. A. Davenport, M. R. Emery, C. Carroll. 2016. A lot of it comes from the heart: the nature and integration of ecological knowledge in tribal and nontribal forest management. Journal of Forestry, 114: 97–107. https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.14-130
Connor, T., E. Tripp, B. Tripp, B. J. Saxon, J. Camarena, [et al.]. 2022. Karuk ecological fire management practices promote elk habitat in northern California. Journal of Applied Ecology, 59: 1874–1883. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14194
Dimeyeva, L. A., D. Malakhov, J. Wunderlich. 2022. Rangeland Angeland Diversity as a Forage resource for Wild ungulates in the Barsa Kelmes Nature Reserve (Kazakhstan). Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 20 (4): 2931–2962. https://doi.org/10.15666/aeer/2004_29312962
Fryxell, J. M. 1991. Forage quality and aggregation by large herbivores. The American Naturalist, 138: 478–498. https://doi.org/10.1086/285227
Gering, E., D. Incorvaia, R. Henriksen, J. Conner, T. Getty, D. Wright. 2019. Getting Back to Nature: Feralization in animals and plants. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 34: 1137–1151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.07.018
Harrington, J., E. Kathol. 2009. Responses of shrub midstory and herbaceous layers to managed grazing and fire in a North American savanna (oak woodland) and prairie landscape. Restoration Ecology, 17: 234–244. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00369.x
Jessen, T. D., N. C. Ban, N. X. Claxton, C. T. Darimont. 2022. Contributions of Indigenous Knowledge to ecological and evolutionary understanding. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 20: 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2435
Khanavi, M., S. Pourmoslemi, B. Farahanikia, A. Hadjiakhoondi, S. N. Ostad. 2010. Cytotoxicity of Vinca minor. Pharmaceutical Biology, 48 (1): 96–100. https://doi.org/10.3109/13880200903046187
Law... 1992. Law of Ukraine on the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine. Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (VRU), 34: 502. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2456-12#Text
Menard, C., P. Duncan, G. Fleurance, J. Y. Georges, M. Lila. 2002. Comparative foraging and nutrition of horses and cattle in European wetlands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 39: 120–133. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2664.2002.00693.x
Mitchell, F., K., Kirby. 1990. The impact of large herbivores on the conservation of semi-natural woods in the British uplands. Forestry, 63: 333–353. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/63.4.333
Polechová, J., D. Storch. 2008. Ecological niche. Encyclopedia of Ecology, 2: 1088–1097. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008045405-4.00811-9
Rodríguez-Rodríguez, E.J., J. Gil-Morión, J. J. Negro. 2022. Feral Animal Populations: Separating Threats from Opportunities. Land, 11 (8): 1370. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11081370
Reimoser, F., H. Armstrong, R., Suchant. 1999. Measuring forest damage of ungulates: what should be considered. Forest Ecology and Management. 120: 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(98)00542-8
Rotherham, I. D. 2015. Bio-cultural heritage and biodiversity: Emerging paradigms in conservation and planning. Biodiversity Conservation, 24: 3405–3429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-1006-5
Thapa, S. K., J. F. de Jong, N. Subedi, A. R. Hof, G. Corradini, S. Basnet, H. H. T. Prins. 2021. Forage quality in grazing lawns and tall grasslands in the subtropical region of Nepal and implications for wild herbivores. Global Ecology and Conservation, 30: e01747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01747
Turghan, M. A., Z. Jiang, Z. Niu. 2022. An update on status and conservation of the Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii): captive breeding and reintroduction projects. Animals, 12: 3158. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12223158
Slivinska K., V. Smagol. 2022. Prospects for the reintroduction of European bison (bison) into the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone of Ukraine. Chornobyl Scientific Hub. Scientific and Practical Journal, 4: 40–44. [Ukrainian]
Smirnov, K. A. 2007. Experience of estimation of twig forage reserves of forest ungulates using the relationship between shoot diameter and shoot mass. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal,86 (7): 883–890. [Russian]
Vorobiev, E. O., S. A. Paskevych, S. M. Zhyla. 2020. Biotopic potential of the ecosystems of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve for rewilding of large herbivores (tarpan, bison, aurochs). In: Monitoring and Protection of Biodiversity in Ukraine. DrukArt, Kyiv, Chernivtsi, 217–240. [Ukrainian]
Woinarski, J. C. Z., B. P. Murphy, S. M. Legge, S. T. Garnett, M. J. Lawes, [et al.]. 2017. How many birds are killed by cats in Australia? Biological Conservation, 214: 76–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.08.006
Zielke, L., N. Wrage-Monnig, J. Muller, C. Neumann. 2019. Implications of Spatial Habitat Diversity on Diet Selection of European Bison and Przewalski’s Horses in a Rewilding Area. Diversity, 11 (4): 63. https://doi.org/10.3390/d11040063