Abundance of migratory and wintering geese in relation to vegetation succession in man-made wetlands: The effects of grazing regimes

The man-made wetlands in young polders in The Netherlands are important stopover and wintering sites for geese. We studied trends in vegetation composition and goose density in two study areas. One was located in a nature reserve situated in a polder reclaimed from an estuary, the other in a reserve in a polder reclaimed from a freshwater lake. In the former we compared an area of spontaneous vegetation succession with a summer-grazed area. In the latter the effect of reed Phragmites australis cover and height on field selection of geese was studied in an area grazed year-round by cattle and horses. In both study areas the area of short grassland (reed cover about 1%, reed heigh