Vehicle collisions with animals pose serious issues in countries with well-developed highway networks. Both expanding wildlife populations and the development of urbanised areas reduce the potential contact distance between wildlife species and vehicles. Many recent studies have been conducted to better understand the factors that influence wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) and provide mitigation methods. Most of these studies examined road density, traffic volume, seasonal fluctuations, etc. However, in analysing the distribution of WVC, few studies have considered a spatial and significant distance geostatistical analysis approach that includes how different land-use categories are associated with the distance to WVCs. Our study investigated the spatial distribution of agricultural land, meadows and pastures, forests, built-up areas, rivers, lakes, and ponds, to highlight the most dangerous sections of roadways where WVCs occur. We examined six potential ‘hot spot’ distances (5–10–25–50–100–200 m) to evaluate the role different landscape elements play in the occurrence of WVC. The near analysis tool showed that a distance of 10–25 m to different landscape elements provided the most sensitive results. Hot spots associated with agricultural land, forests, as well as meadows and pastures, peaked on roadways in close proximity (10 m), while hot spots associated with built-up areas, rivers, lakes, and ponds peaked on roadways farther (200 m) from these land-use types. We found that the order of habitat importance in WVC hot spots was agricultural land < forests < meadows and pastures < built-up areas < rivers < lakes and ponds. This methodological approach includes general hot-spot analysis as well as differentiated distance analysis which helps to better reveal the influence of landscape structure on WVCs.

We investigated the relationship between lunar illumination based on the percentage of the visible lunar disk (LDP) and the frequency of wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) in Lithuania. We analyzed WVC frequency during ten 10% LDP intervals to more precisely reflect the relationship between LDP and WVC. The 10% LDP interval approach showed a significant trend of increasing WVC frequencies with an increasing LDP at night. We also examined the correlation between the daily numbers of WVCs and LDP for different months and seasons. The relationship seemed to be stronger at night and during the late autumn–winter months, particularly in December, suggesting the importance of lunar illumination on WVCs. There was a weak positive correlation between LDP and overall daily number of WVCs (r_s = 0.091; p < 0.001) and between LDP and night WVCs (r_s = 0.104; p < 0.001). We found significant positive correlations for winter (December–February) (r_s = 0.118; p = 0.012) and autumn (August–November) (r_s = 0.127; p = 0.007). Our study suggests that the LDP interval approach may provide more possibilities for the evaluation and quantification of WVCs and lunar light relationships than the traditional lunar phase approach.

Fires in forested raised bogs occur both as a result of natural processes and as a result of human activity. Although there is a generally accepted opinion that their impact on ecosystems is significant, there is still a lack of scientifically reliable research on how individual components of damaged ecosystems change and recover under the influence of fires. The purpose of our study was to assess whether and how these fires affect the chemical composition of the peat layers. This study is based on a geochemical analysis of surface peat layers in areas after a controlled fire and in adjacent areas which were untouched by the fire in a raised bog of Čepkeliai. This study showed a low concentration of potentially toxic elements in the peat layers. In this respect, it is clear that there is no risk of environmental contamination in this natural raised bog. Furthermore, the research revealed other important insights on the combination of potentially toxic elements that can be used as a tracer for the identification of fire events that occurred in the past. Multiple analyses on various combinations of potentially toxic elements revealed the optimal combination (Cu-Zr-Pb-Se-Fe) for distinguishing between the burnt and non-burnt areas. Based on the results of our research, it can be stated that the low-temperature, controlled burning of the peat layers of raised bog forests can be successfully carried out to achieve the environmental and ecological goals of forest management.

Animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) are an increasing concern globally, yet domesticated animals, particularly dogs, remain understudied. We investigated spatial and temporal patterns of dog-vehicle collisions (DVCs) in Lithuania. Landscape variables such as distance to buildings, forests, meadows, and arable land, as well as land cover composition within a 500 m radius, were analyzed using GIS and compared to randomly generated pseudo-absence points. Temporal patterns were analyzed monthly, daily, and hourly. There was a significant difference in the number of DVCs occurring at sunrise and sunset. Moreover, DVCs were more frequent on weekends, peaking on Fridays and Sundays. Spatially, DVCs were significantly more likely to occur closer to built-up areas and meadows, and farther from forests and arable land, compared to random pseudo-absences, indicating a strong association with human-modified habitats. These findings indicate that DVCs are more influenced by human-modified landscapes and dog activity patterns, particularly around dawn and dusk.