DO SOILS AFFECT BROWN HARE LEPUS EUROPAEUS ABUNDANCE IN AGRICULTURAL HABITATS?

1778) ecology has been conducted in Europe to identify habitat-species relationships and the reasons for the decline in hare populations that have occurred since the 1960s. How-ever, very few studies have considered the influence of soil texture on the abundance of this species in agricultural habitats. In this paper we examine the relationship between winter brown hare density in protected areas (game refuges) in four provinces of the Tuscany re-gion (central Italy) and soil texture. Results show that hares reach higher densities in areas characterized by "loam " soils compared to areas where soils are richer in clay. Although this relationship is probably complex, soil texture may indirectly affect brown hare popula-tions by influencing the temperature and moisture of the ground and influencing the timing of farming operations (tillage). Key words: soil texture, farmland, hare density, central Italy RIASSUNTO- Il suolo influenza l’abbondanza della lepre Lepus europaeus negli ambienti agricoli? Negli ultimi anni sono state effettuate numerose ricerche sull’ecologia della lepre europea Lepus europaeus, al fine di evidenziare le relazioni fra questa specie ed il tipo di habitat e di comprendere i motivi del declino avvenuto a partire dagli anni ’60