Abundant artificial grasslands around forests increase the deer impact on forest vegetation

Takarabe, Kanoko; Iijima, Hayato

doi:10.1007/s10342-020-01262-y

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We incorporated fragmentation and forest edge effects by calculating the forest size and forest edge circumference in which the monitoring areas were located. Also, adapted from Takarabe and Iijima 2020 55 , we calculated the forest proportion in a 750 m radius around the center of each monitoring area and the distance of the center to the closest forest edge. To account for local terrain or relief effects, we first determined the elevation with a 38.2 m resolution at a 0° latitude, using the R-Package elevatr 56 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abrupt height growth setbacks show overbrowsing of tree saplings, which can be reduced by raising deer harvest

Bödeker,

Jordan-Fragstein,

Vor

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intensive ungulate browsing significantly impacts forests worldwide. However, it is usually not single browsing events that lead to sapling mortality, but the little-researched interactions of browsed saplings with their biotic and abiotic environment. (I) Our objective was to assess the impact of ungulate browsing on the growth of young saplings relative to other environmental factors by utilizing their height increment as a sensitive measure of vitality to indicate their status. (II) Furthermore, we aimed to identify factors affecting ungulate browsing at our study sites, assessed as browsing probabilities, and identify effective mitigation measures for browsing impact. We analyzed an extensive sapling dataset of 248 wildlife exclosures, which were erected in 2016 in beech dominated forests across Germany and assessed annually until 2020. (I) Browsing probability and light availability were the most influential parameters for selectively browsed, admixed tree species (e.g., sycamore maple). Height increment showed abrupt setbacks, which caused a permanent collapse of growth when browsing exceeded a certain level. However, light availability enhanced height increment. (II) An increase in deer harvest reduced the browsing probability of selectively browsed species considerably. We conclude that the growth-inhibiting effect of ungulate browsing is a multifactorial phenomenon, which can be mitigated by silvicultural management and efficient hunting strategies.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abrupt height growth setbacks show overbrowsing of tree saplings, which can be reduced by raising deer harvest

Bödeker,

Jordan-Fragstein,

Vor

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As roe deer populations become more abundant, the overall browsing pressure in forest systems increases (Borowski, Gil, et al, 2021 ; Hothorn & Müller, 2010 ; Tremblay et al, 2007 ). However, where and how intensely the browsing occurs is influenced by factors such as forest structure (Kupferschmid et al, 2020 ), predation pressure (Kuijper et al, 2013 ), anthropogenic disturbance (Borowski, Bartoń, et al, 2021 ; Gerhardt et al, 2013 ; Möst et al, 2015 ) and surrounding land‐use (Takarabe & Iijima, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of understory characteristics on browsing patterns of roe deer in central European mountain forests

Schwegmann,

Mörsdorf,

Bhardwaj

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Selective browsing by deer on young trees may impede the management goal of increasing forest resilience against climate change and other disturbances. Deer population density is often considered the main driver of browsing impacts on young trees, however, a range of other variables such as food availability also affect this relationship. In this study, we use browsing survey data from 135 research plots to explore patterns of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) browsing pressure on woody plants in mountainous forests in central Europe. We fitted species‐specific generalised linear mixed models for eight woody taxa, assessing the potential effects of understory characteristics, roe deer abundance and lying deadwood on browsing intensity. Our study reveals conspecific and associational effects for woody taxa that are intermediately browsed by roe deer. Selective browsing pressure was mediated by preferences of plants, in that, browsing of strongly preferred woody taxa as for example mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) and of least preferred woody taxa, for example Norway spruce (Picea abies) was not affected by the surrounding understory vegetation, while browsing pressure on intermediately browsed species like for example silver fir (Abies alba) was affected by understory characteristics. Contrary to our expectations, roe deer abundance was only positively associated with browsing pressure on silver fir and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), while all other plants were unaffected by deer abundance. Finally, we did not find an influence of lying deadwood volume on the browsing pressure on any woody‐plant species. Overall, our results indicate that patterns in browsing preference and intensity are species‐specific processes and are partly affected by the surrounding understory vegetation. Current management strategies that aim to reduce browsing pressure through culling may be inefficient as they do not address other drivers of browsing pressure. However, managers also need to consider the characteristics of the local understory vegetation in addition to deer abundance and design species‐specific plans to reduce browsing on woody plant taxa.

show abstract

“…Many plants are potentially palatable for red deer as they are intermediate feeders, meaning that they are able to switch between browsing on woody items and grazing on herbaceous vegetation (Clauss et al., 2010; Hofmann, 1989). Moreover, the level of bark stripping can also be positively related to the proportion of agricultural land in the surrounding landscape (Jarnemo et al., 2014), suggesting that landscape structure and/or land use may be important additional factors that should be considered for an increased understanding of deer damage patterns (Kuijper, 2011; Putman et al., 2011; Takarabe & Iijima, 2020; Spake et al., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The proximity of rapeseed fields influences levels of forest damage by red deer

Jarnemo

Widén

Månsson

2022

Ecol Sol and Evidence

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Deer can show transitional use between agricultural fields and forests for foraging and shelter. Such transitional use may affect forest damage as nutrient balancing theory suggests that if deer ingest large amounts of nutrient-rich food, complementary browse, such as bark, may be required to balance the diet.2. We investigated the relationship between the level of red deer Cervus elaphus bark-stripping damage in 68 Norway spruce Picea abies stands and the presence of rapeseed Brassica napus fields -an energy-rich crop preferred by red deer -in the surroundings, hypothesizing that damage increases with decreasing distance to rapeseed fields. We also considered other potentially influencing factors, such as supplemental feeding, alternative forage availability, and deer use of spruce stands as indexed by a pellet group count.3. Spruce stands closer to rapeseed had a significantly higher proportion of damaged stems. The increased level of bark-stripping damage was not explained by a higher stand use of deer closer to rapeseed fields, indicating that deer increase their consumption of bark in order to balance their diet. Similarly, spruce stands closer to supplemental feeding stations had significantly higher damage levels. 4. In line with earlier findings, damage levels were negatively related to the amount of available browse in the forest. This emphasizes the importance of alternative forage for reducing the damage risk in forest plantations. 5. Our study shows that the availability of fields with nutrient-rich food, such as rapeseed, as well as supplemental feeding needs to be considered when predicting the level of forest damage. With a high availability of nutrient-rich food in the vicinity of forest stands, a higher damage level can be expected and counteractions could be taken such as increased disturbance, harvest or changed choice of both crop and supplemental feed types. These actions may also be combined with a push-pull strategy where the deer are steered to disturbance-free zones insensitive to damage and with alternative forage. The importance of alternative forage availability onThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

show abstract

Abundant artificial grasslands around forests increase the deer impact on forest vegetation

Cited by 7 publications

References 56 publications

Abrupt height growth setbacks show overbrowsing of tree saplings, which can be reduced by raising deer harvest

Abrupt height growth setbacks show overbrowsing of tree saplings, which can be reduced by raising deer harvest

Effects of understory characteristics on browsing patterns of roe deer in central European mountain forests

The proximity of rapeseed fields influences levels of forest damage by red deer

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About