After being reduced to about 1,200 animals in eight isolated populations by the beginning of the 20th century, Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) have powerfully recovered in range and population, through widespread reintroductions, relaxation of persecution, and natural spread. Populations are now (2010) established in all countries within their former natural range in Europe except for Portugal, Italy, and the south Balkans (Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro). In Asia, there are significant populations in West and Central Siberia; and small relict populations elsewhere in west and south Siberia, and in Xinjiang (China)/western Mongolia. The current minimum world population estimate for Eurasian beavers is 1.04 million, though this figure includes some populations of introduced North American beavers (C. canadensis)in the NW and Far Eastern Russian Federation, where the ranges of the two species occur in close proximity and to some extent overlap. Both populations and range are in rapid expansion, and in 2008 the species was reclassified by IUCN as Least Concern, though some subspecies remain threatened. We present maps summarizing current knowledge of the world distribution of Eurasian beaver and the Eurasian distribution of the introduced North American beaver, and tables of the most recent known population estimates for each country, broken down by region for the Russian Federation.

Key words: Castor fiber, population, distribution, range, reintroduction.

The present study was carried out on three different red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) local populations in Estonia, located on the islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa and in Southern Estonia. The diet composition of red deer was studied from September to the end of November by analysing rumen contents of 141 animals, culled during the hunting seasons from 2004 – 2009. Grasses and forbs formed the main component of red deer diet throughout the period, comprising on average 81% of the volume. The dietary diversity was higher in September and November, when red deer consumed more shoots from deciduous trees, fruits, lichen, crops and dwarf shrubs, and lower in October when red deer consumed mainly grasses. Conifers are less frequently used as a food source than deciduous trees. The results of the study show that red deer browsing in pre-winter period has no significant effect on silviculture because the main tree species in red deer diet are not economically significant. However, the situation may change in late winter, when, due to the limited availability of grasses, the percentage of woody plants in the red deer diet probably increases.

Key words: red deer, Cervus elaphus, diet composition, rumen content

With the rise in average temperature of 0.7-0.9^oC during the last century, particularly significant in the last decades (over the last 15-30 years), winter in Lithuania has become milder, with shorter periods of snow cover and increased amounts of precipitation. Summer now has severe droughts, especially in July-August. The duration of thermal spring and autumn has increased. As a result of these changes, the climate in Lithuania is becoming less continental.

The possible effects of climate change on forest ecosystems are discussed. The research data in Lithuania (1990-2011) from scientific reports, scientific articles, diploma theses, etc. have been used.

The effects of climate change on different components and indices of forest ecosystems, such as soil chemistry and microbiology, ground vegetation, forest insects, birds, herbivorous animals, and tree diseases as well as tree phenology, growth and crown condition, have been analysed. In many cases, the effects of climate change depend on stand and site characteristics.

Key words: climate change, forest ecosystem, biodiversity, tree growth, phenology, crown condition.

The timing of phenophases of trees has increasingly been used as bio-indicator for climate change. Many studies, however, did not sufficiently consider an influence of tree age. According to our exploratory study, the phenophases at the tops of saplings and of pole-stage trees of Scots pine growing in an open canopy boreal forest coincided with each other in a given year but differed between years (2008 and 2009). In 2008, bud break and the onset and end of height growth of saplings/pole-stage trees occurred at the same time, viz. at the end of May, beginning of June and mid-July, respectively. In 2009, bud break and onset of height growth occurred mid-May and end of May, respectively, whereas the end of height growth was the same as in 2008 (mid-July). This finding indicates the possibility of transferring observations made on easily accessible saplings to hardly accessible adult trees. This transferability may open up new ways to better understand growth processes of adult trees.

Key words: Pinus sylvestris, young vs. old trees, phenophases, Wilcoxon rank test