Damjan Pantic

Evaluation of the eye lens method for age determination in roe deerCapreolus capreolus

Eye lens weight curves were obtained from a sample of 522 male and 171 female free-living roe deerCapreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758), collected during the regular annual harvest 1998/99–2005/06 (May–January) in 12 different field hunting grounds in Vojvodina (North part of Serbia). We found no significant differences in eye lens weight between males and females within the same age class (except age class 1). Thus, the eye lens weight data for both sexes within the same age class were pooled for further analyses. The rate of increase in eye lens weight declined at a relatively early age, but lenses continued to increase in weight through age class 9. However, there was a considerable overlap in ranges of eye lens weights within all age classes, which restricted the usefulness of this method. The estimate precision of the eye lens method in determining age was evaluated by the comparison of “known age” (cementum layer technique) and predicted age (eye lens weight technique). We examined model validity on 78 roe deer not used previously to construct the regression line. The lack of correspondence between the two techniques was evident among individuals within older age classes. The percentage of correctly determined age rapidly declined already from age class 4 (<30%).

Structural, production and dynamic characteristics of the strict forest reserve "Račanska šljivovica" on Mt. Tara.

Mixed forests of broadleaves and conifers, thanks to their high productivity and high biodiversity, are the most valuable part of the growing stock in Serbia. The aim of this research was to analyze the mixed old-growth forests of fir, spruce and beech in the reserve “Racanska Sljivovica“ so as to define the laws which could be applied in the future forest management on Mt. Tara. The research was based on the data of six periodic complete inventories followed by standard dendrometric and statistical processing. Forest structure was similar to the typical selection structure. The recruitment dynamics (except beech) was relatively favourable, with the ratio to dead trees amounting to 1.72. The number of trees and the volume increased constantly, attaining 422.2 trees•ha-1, i.e. 800.3 m3•ha-1, and the volume increment was above 12 m3•ha-1, despite a slight drop. Silver fir was the protagonist of the selection structure and productivity. It is necessary to stimulate the survival and development of beech at the concrete site, to examine the balanced number of trees and volume, and to investigate the relationship between the number of recruited trees and the stand volume.