Conference: Roe deer – where to?
The first conference of the newly established "Forum Mixnitz" continuing education program took place at the Naturwelten Steiermark (Nature Worlds Styria). Around 200 interested attendees came to the opening event to hear presentations by Christian Matitz, Rudolf Reiner, Andreas Zedrosser, Armin Deutz, Hubert Potocnik, Dominik Thiel, and Herbert Sieghartsleitner. The topics ranged from current findings in wildlife biology and habitat and environment to hunting practices.
Many discussions about forests and roe deer quickly turn to numbers: How many roe deer are too many? What level of browsing damage is excessive? What culling quotas are necessary? But the forest is not a static system, and ungulates are not an isolated factor. The dynamics of our forests are currently undergoing fundamental changes – and with them, the conditions under which roe deer live and forests regenerate. Forest dynamics, forest regeneration, and roe deer – a holistic perspective instead of black-and-white debates.