Meadow Vole - Plant Communities

Plant Communities

Meadow voles are most commonly found in grasslands, preferring moister areas, but are also found in wooded areas.

In eastern Washington and northern Idaho, meadow voles are found in relative abundance in sedge (Carex spp.) fens but not in adjacent cedar (Thuja spp.)-hemlock (Tsuga spp.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), or ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests. Meadow voles are also absent from fescue (Festuca spp.)-snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.) associations. Moisture may be a major factor in habitat use; possibly the presence of free water is a deciding factor. In southeastern Montana meadow voles were the second most abundant small mammal (after deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus)) in riparian areas within big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)-buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides) habitats. Meadow voles are listed as riparian-dependent vertebrates in the Snake River drainage of Wyoming. In a compilation of 11 studies on small mammals, meadow voles were reported in only three of 29 sites in subalpine forests of the central Rocky Mountains. Their range extensions were likely to be related to irrigation practices. They are now common in hayfields, pastures, and along ditches in the Rocky Mountain states.

In Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota, meadow voles were present in riparian shrublands, tallgrass prairie, and other habitats. In east-central Ohio, meadow voles were captured in reconstructed common cattail (Typha latifolia) wetlands. In Virginia, meadow voles were least abundant in eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) glades and most abundant in fields with dense grass cover.