Herbivores are constitutive elements of most terrestrial ecosystems. Understanding effects of herbivory on ecosystem dynamics is thus a major, albeit challenging task in community ecology. Effects of mammals on plant communities are typically explored by comparing plant densities or diversity in exclosure experiments. This might over-estimate long-term herbivore effects at community levels as early life stage mortality is driven by a multitude of factors. Addressing these challenges, we established a set of 100 pairs of ungulate exclosures and unfenced control plots (25 m2) in mixed montane forests in the Alps in 1989 covering a forest area of 90 km2. Investigations ran until 2013. Analogous to the gap-maker–gap-filler approach, dynamically recording the height of the largest trees per tree species in paired plots with and without exclosures might allow for assessing herbivore impacts on those individuals with a high probability of attaining reproductive stages. We thus tested if recording maximum heights of regenerating trees would better reflect effects of ungulate herbivory on long-term dynamics of tree regeneration than recording of stem density, and if species dominance patterns would shift over time. For quantifying the effects of ungulate herbivory simultaneously at community and species level we used principle response curves (PRC). PRCs yielded traceable results both at community and species level. Trajectories of maximum heights yielded significant results contrary to trajectories of total stem density. Response patterns of tree species were not uniform over time: e.g., both Norway spruce and European larch switched in their response to fencing. Fencing explained about 3% of the variance of maximum tree heights after nine years but increased to about 10% after 24 years thus confirming the importance of long-term surveys. Maximum height dynamics of tree species, addressed in our study, can thus reflect local dominance of tree species via asymmetric plant competition. Such effects, both within and among forest patches, can accrue over time shaping forest structure and composition.

Rising numbers of wild ungulates in human‐dominated landscapes of Europe can induce negative effects like damages to forests. Therefore, effective wildlife management, including harvesting through hunting is becoming increasingly important. However, current hunting practices often fail to diminish those negative effects, as many ungulate species retreat to areas unsuitable for hunting. This predator–avoidance behaviour makes it difficult to fulfill the demand of reducing population numbers. Thus, there is an urgent need for innovative and effective wildlife management tools to counteract this problem. Here we provide for the first time a hunting suitability model for wild ungulate management in mountainous landscapes to visualise hunting suitability objectively and realistically. Using red deer as a model species, we modelled hunting suitability with high spatial resolution (10 × 10 m), based on remote sensing information, field surveys and expert knowledge of professional hunters. We analysed spatio–temporal habitat selection by radio‐collared deer in relation to locations of varying hunting suitability. The suitability of various locations regarding hunting influenced the spatio–temporal habitat selection by this species, consistent with our hypothesis. Red deer avoided areas suitable for hunting during daylight hours in the hunting season, but not during the night. This species seems to perceive a landscape of heterogeneous anthropogenic predation risk, shaped by locations of various hunting suitability, as we modelled it. This confirms the empirical realism of the model. Concerning wild ungulate management, our hunting suitability model provides high‐resolution predictions of where species like red deer will retreat when perceived anthropogenic predation risk increases. The model also yields useful insights regarding the hunting suitability of particular locations, which is valuable information especially for non‐locals. Furthermore, the model can serve as planning tool to inform decisions about where particular hunting strategies can be performed most efficiently to manage wild ungulates and therefore minimize human–wildlife conflicts.

Increasing numbers of wild ungulates in human-dominated landscapes in Europe could lead to negative effects, such as damages to forests through browsing. To prevent those effects and, thus, mitigate wildlife-based conflicts while ensuring viable ungulate populations, sustainable management is required. Roe deer, as the most abundant cervid species in Europe, is primarily managed via hunting to decrease population densities through harvesting. Besides direct mortality, non-lethal effects of hunting activities further affect the spatial habitat selection for this species. Accordingly, the spatial distribution of hunting locations might influence game impact on forest vegetation. To examine these relationships in more detail, we linked the spatial distribution of hunting locations for roe deer with forest damage through browsing 20 regions in Upper Austria. Consistent with our hypothesis, an avoidance of forests by hunters was found in regions with <20% forest cover and intolerable browsing impact. When hunters in certain regions, however, used forests according to their availability, game impact on forest vegetation was tolerable. Although forest damage by ungulates depends on numerous factors, we conclude that careful consideration of hunting locations might be an additional approach to reduce browsing intensity by roe deer, at least in regions with low forest cover.