Study shows smaller fields can reduce vole populations and crop damage

Reducing the size of agricultural fields can significantly decrease vole populations in the landscape and thus reduce the damage these rodents cause to farmers, according to scientists. Smaller areas are less attractive to voles, and the positive effect extends across the entire agricultural landscape. Smaller fields can also reduce crop damage and the frequency of interventions, including the use of poisons to control voles. This follows from a study by researchers from the Faculty of Science at Palacký University Olomouc, Mendel University in Brno, and the National Centre for Agricultural and Food Research in Prague.

Scientists found that reducing the average field size from 18 hectares to 13 hectares leads to about an eight percent decrease in the average population of the common vole, while reducing it from ten to five hectares results in a drop of about 15 percent.