Vanroy Tosca, Baeten Lander, Martel An, Catfolis Bram, Fonville Manoj, Lens Luc, Pasmans Frank, Sprong Hein, Strubbe Diederik, Verbrugghe Elin, Verheyen Kris
Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, B-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium.
Wildlife Health Ghent, Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, B-9820, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Parasit Vectors. 2025 Jun 18;18(1):227. doi: 10.1186/s13071-025-06874-0.
More and more forest management focuses on increasing structural complexity to improve environmental conditions for biodiversity and forest functioning. However, it remains uncertain whether animal populations also benefit from increased forest structure. Small mammals are key reservoirs for zoonotic diseases, so understanding how forest structure changes their condition and how this, in turn, affects infection dynamics is critical for animal and human health.
This study examined relationships between forest structural complexity, individual body condition (scaled mass index (SMI) and telomere length), pathogen prevalence, and tick load in bank voles and wood mice across 19 forest plots in northern Belgium, representing a gradient of structural complexity.
Results showed that higher forest complexity, especially with more dead wood and a well-developed herb layer, increased small mammal abundance. Density varied by tree species, with highest abundances in oak and lowest in poplar forests. In addition, body condition improved with structural complexity; SMI increased with woody layer complexity in wood mice and with dead wood availability in bank voles. No clear relationship between telomere length and forest complexity was observed. The relationship between body condition and pathogen prevalence was species- and pathogen-specific. Small mammals in better body condition were more likely to host Borrelia burgdorferi (causing Lyme disease), particularly in complex forests, indicating a higher infection risk with increasing structural complexity.
Forest management practices that aim to enhance forest structure and biodiversity may thus inadvertently increase zoonotic disease risk and should take these findings in consideration to minimize the risk for human health.
越来越多的森林管理致力于增加结构复杂性，以改善生物多样性和森林功能的环境条件。然而，动物种群是否也能从森林结构的增加中受益仍不确定。小型哺乳动物是人畜共患病的关键宿主，因此了解森林结构如何改变它们的状况以及这又如何反过来影响感染动态，对动物和人类健康至关重要。
本研究调查了比利时北部19个森林地块中，森林结构复杂性、个体身体状况（标化体重指数（SMI）和端粒长度）、病原体流行率以及田鼠和林姬鼠的蜱负荷之间的关系，这些地块代表了结构复杂性的梯度。
结果表明，更高的森林复杂性，特别是有更多枯木和发育良好的草本层，会增加小型哺乳动物的数量。密度因树种而异，在橡树林中数量最多，在杨树林中最少。此外，身体状况随着结构复杂性的提高而改善；林姬鼠的SMI随着木本层复杂性的增加而增加，田鼠的SMI随着枯木可用性的增加而增加。未观察到端粒长度与森林复杂性之间有明确关系。身体状况与病原体流行率之间的关系因物种和病原体而异。身体状况较好的小型哺乳动物更有可能感染伯氏疏螺旋体（导致莱姆病），特别是在复杂森林中，这表明随着结构复杂性的增加，感染风险更高。
旨在增强森林结构和生物多样性的森林管理实践可能因此无意中增加人畜共患病风险，应考虑这些发现以将对人类健康的风险降至最低。
