EN
In mosaics of forest environment the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus {Schreber, 1780) prefers patches with dense vegetal cover like understorey or tail herbaceous plants, like ferns or sedges. The size and intensity of the space use, the rate of colonization of free space with population increases and mean home range size are highest in habitats, or their parts, covered uniformly by this type of vegetation. Habitats with dense and uniform understorey characteristically support high vole densities, high numbers of sexually active individuals, high survival rates of individuals entering the population at the beginning of the reproductive season, a high emigration during the second half of the season and a low immigration. Voie populations in habitats of poor and clumped understorey are characterized by low densities, high immigration of individuals entering to the population during the second half of the season and a high turnover of individuals. It has been suggested that vole distribution in a mosaic of forest habitats depends upon the abundance of structural elements of the habitat that may serve as defensive structures against predators.