Impact of the fat dormouse (Glis glis Linnaeus 1766) on hazel orchards in the area of Alta Langa and Belbo, Bormida, Uzzone Valleys (province of Cuneo, Italy): a preliminary assessment of agricultural damage

In the summer of 2008, the fat dormouse (Glis glis Linnaeus 1766), pest animal in the Langhe agricultural territory (Province of Cuneo, Italy), was studied with the aim of understanding its night invasion and feeding exploitation capacity on hazel orchards, in order to assess the resulting loss of marketable hazelnuts. Using 9 hazel orchards as study samples, dormice density, damage in cultivations and exploitation time were calculated and the results obtained were correlated. Damages happened mainly between July (when fruits start to grow) and late August (when fruits are harvested). Density (estimated by 18 nocturnal survey sessions) reached values between 4.13 and 247 vocalizing animals/hectare in the central hours of the night. The fruits loss, evaluated taking into consideration 33 plots placed inside the cultivations, accounted for 61% of the total of collected hazelnuts. Density and damage values were connected with the physical features of hazel orchards, their position in relation to wooded areas and the study period.