Impact of ungulates on forest vegetation and its dependence on the silvicultural system

Reimoser, Friedrich; Gossow, Hartmut

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(96)03816-9

Cited by 198 publications

(175 citation statements)

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“…Natural forest regeneration has been investigated by several authors (Heuze et al 2005;Barrett and Schmitz 2013), but there is a great demand for information on the relationship between forest management and deer pressure in man-made plantations. In general, forests managed by clear-cutting are more susceptible to browsing than forests under close-to-nature management (Reimoser and Gossow 1996). This study tested 4 hypotheses relating to the effectiveness of various treatments for managing forests with deciduous admixtures, in particular different planting scenarios, to mitigate deer browsing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young conifer stands form a deer browsing refuge for an oak admixture: silvicultural implications for forest regeneration under herbivore pressure

Borkowski

Dobrowolska

Dąbrowski³

et al. 2017

Eur J Forest Res

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There is little knowledge how ungulate pressure on forest regeneration may be mitigated by silvicultural methods. The knowledge is especially needed for artificially regenerated, deciduous tree species. We studied factors affecting browsing incidence by deer in the Pisz Forest District in Poland, an area where 10,000 ha of forest was damaged by a 2002 hurricane. In 2006, we established three experimental plots (in total, 22.6 ha), in which the main species was Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) admixed with pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). The data on browsing were collected in 2008-2015. In general, oak browsing incidence was unrelated to oak planting density. On a plantation scale, it was significantly affected by the pine age. Although in each variant all the oaks were browsed for four consecutive years (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012), in 2013 browsing incidence began to decrease. When the pines grew higher and formed a physical barrier, it was harder for deer-roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus) and moose (Alces alces)-to move through and locate the oaks. Moreover, within plantations, oak browsing incidence was higher in the patches with shorter pines.Browsing of individual saplings or small groups of saplings was also negatively affected by the height of neighbouring pine saplings. Oak density influenced deer selectivity depending on the tree height. In a low oak tree density, browsing incidence was unrelated to oak height, while in higher tree density, deer selected oaks of the height between 40 and 100 cm. We postulate that deciduous admixture in a coniferous (unattractive) stand can be planted with a few year delay. Older coniferous trees should impede locating of attractive tree species by deer and the browsing incidence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young conifer stands form a deer browsing refuge for an oak admixture: silvicultural implications for forest regeneration under herbivore pressure

Borkowski

Dobrowolska

Dąbrowski³

et al. 2017

Eur J Forest Res

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“…L'eccessivo carico di fauna ungulata costituisce un fattore di disturbo in grado di apportare gravi limitazioni alle dinamiche evolutive dei soprassuoli forestali, al punto da vanificare gli effetti degli interventi selvicolturali (Oliver & Larson 1996, Reimoser & Gossow 1996. È altresì dimostrato che la selettività dei danni di origine alimentare può modificare i rapporti di concorrenza e quindi limitare la presenza di alcune specie, mettendo a repentaglio, nel lungo periodo, la possibilità di sopravvivenza di quelle più appetite: possono risultarne cambiamenti nella composizione specifica e nella struttura degli ecosistemi forestali (Motta 1996, Gill & Beardall 2001, Ammer 1996, Sage et al 2003, Berretti & Motta 2005.…”

Section: Premessaunclassified

“…In accordo con quanto detto a proposito degli spazi aperti, le tagliate dei cedui possono rappresentare un arricchimento in termini di diversità soprattutto a scala territoriale: la loro presenza arricchisce di habitat il paesaggio, con ricadute per gli ungulati (Reimoser & Gossow 1996) e per l'avifauna (Mairota et al 2006).…”

Section: Classe DI Superficieunclassified

“…In ultima analisi, la soluzione del problema, come ormai sostenuto da molti studiosi in Italia e all'estero (Mattioli 1996, Reimoser & Gossow 1996, Brugnoli 2006, è una gestione faunistica integrata, che a misure faunistico-venatorie affianchi misure di gestione forestale e ambientale.…”

Section: Conclusioniunclassified

“…

Per quanto riguarda in particolare la provincia di Prato, nella zona montana della parte settentrionale sono presenti consistenti popolazioni di ungulati selvatici, da anni sottoposti ad azioni di contenimento mediante caccia selettiva (capriolo e cervo) o di eradicazione (daino).

Particolarmente meritevole di attenzione è l'effetto che soprattutto il cervo (in ragione della vastità dell'areale, della numerosità della popolazione e delle esigenze alimentari) esercita sulle colture agrarie e forestali.

…”

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Impact of wild ungulates on coppices from the Bisenzio Valley (province of Prato, Italy)

Bianchi¹,

Bartoli²,

Paci³

et al. 2014

Forest@

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PremessaL'eccessivo carico di fauna ungulata costituisce un fattore di disturbo in grado di apportare gravi limitazioni alle dinamiche evolutive dei soprassuoli forestali, al punto da vanificare gli effetti degli interventi selvicolturali (Oliver & Larson 1996, Reimoser & Gossow 1996. È altresì dimostrato che la selettività dei danni di origine alimentare può modificare i rapporti di concorrenza e quindi limitare la presenza di alcune specie, mettendo a repentaglio, nel lungo periodo, la possibilità di sopravvivenza di quelle più appetite: possono risultarne cambiamenti nella composizione specifica e nella struttura degli ecosistemi forestali (Motta 1996, Gill & Beardall 2001, Ammer 1996, Sage et al. 2003, Berretti & Motta 2005.Per quanto riguarda in particolare la provincia di Prato, nella zona montana della parte settentrionale sono presenti consistenti popolazioni di ungulati selvatici, da anni sottoposti ad azioni di contenimento mediante caccia selettiva (capriolo e cervo) o di eradicazione (daino).Particolarmente meritevole di attenzione è l'effetto che soprattutto il cervo (in ragione della vastità dell'areale, della numerosità della popolazione e delle esigenze alimentari) esercita sulle colture agrarie e forestali. Del danno sulle colture agricole si è oramai ben consapevoli; restano invece da chiarire molti aspetti di quello a carico dei boschi, con particolare riguardo agli effetti, nel breve e lungo periodo, sui processi di rinnovazione. it). Abstract: Impact of wild ungulates on coppices from the Bisenzio Valley (province of Prato, Italy) . Similar to otherApennine areas, a considerable increase of wild ungulate density has been observed in the past decades in the Bisenzio valley (province of Prato), leading to a strong impact on coppice regeneration. In some felling areas, the prolonged browsing on young suckers turned the stumps into low and dense bushes, thus threatening the survival of the forest stand and triggering a loss of environmental stability. The aim of this work was to study the impact of deer on sprout regeneration after cutting in mixed coppices felled in the period 2007-2010 and characterized by the dominance of chestnut, hornbeam, Turkey oak, and beech. Some 36 plots were established in four municipal districts of the Prato province (Cantagallo, Vernio, Montemurlo, Vaiano). Damage and browsing intensity on each stump were evaluated using an index that allowed the comparison among different areas and fores stand types. Regardless of the species, over 90% of the sprouts revealed a very strong damage, whereas only 6% did not exhibit any damage. A significant difference in the sprout height was detected between browsed and non-browsed areas. Despite a high incidence of damage in all the studied areas, chestnut showed a greater resilience against browsing. In summary, overgrazing by wild game may determine severe contraints to the evolutionary dynamics of forest stands, frustrating the effects of silvicultural practices. The possible benefits of the implementation of a large-scale inte...

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

Jarnemo

Widén

Månsson

2022

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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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.

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Impact of ungulates on forest vegetation and its dependence on the silvicultural system

Cited by 198 publications

References 5 publications

Young conifer stands form a deer browsing refuge for an oak admixture: silvicultural implications for forest regeneration under herbivore pressure

Young conifer stands form a deer browsing refuge for an oak admixture: silvicultural implications for forest regeneration under herbivore pressure

Impact of wild ungulates on coppices from the Bisenzio Valley (province of Prato, Italy)

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

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