Impact of deforestation on pearl mussel habitats in the Russian section of the Baltic Sea basin

Changes in the vegetation cover associated with intensive forest extermination may have a strong effect on the riverine environment, including the chances of survival for bivalve mollusc populations in small streams and rivers. In order to check this hypothesis, drainage area properties of the rivers with extinct and existing pearl mussel populations in the Russian section of the Baltic Sea basin were compared. Preservation of forest vegetation along the river banks of the studied rivers was correlated with the presence of pearl mussel populations. Traditional agriculture turned out to be, in some cases, more harmful for river ecosystems than urbanization and industrialization.