Impacts of culling and exclusion of browsers on vegetation recovery across New Zealand forests

Wright, David M.; Tanentzap, Andrew J.; Flores, Olivier; Husheer, Sean W.; Duncan, Richard P.; Wiser, Susan K.; Coomes, David A.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.04.033

Cited by 52 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Graphs of predicted 500-year trends in adult basal area (upper panels), sapling density (center panels), and seedling density (lower panels) for each of the 15 tree species in four herbivory scenarios for the alluvial terrace forest at Waitutu Forest, New Zealand. Our shortterm predictions of the effects of deer on seedlings and saplings are consistent with the results of national exclosure studies (Wardle et al 2001, Mason et al 2010, Wright et al 2012, and our predictions in the presence and absence of rodents are in broad agreement with a study that showed increased recruitment of Nothofagus spp. 7) is consistent with the palynological record showing that this species is still expanding in southwestern South Island (McGlone et al 1996).…”

Section: Evaluation Of Model Predictionssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Deer were also predicted to have significant effects on angiosperm subcanopy trees, consistent with observations from short-term (i.e., 40 years) exclosure studies (e.g., Wardle et al 2001, Mason et al 2010, Wright et al 2012. In particular, deer reduced the growth rates, and increased the mortality rates, of some angiosperm seedlings (e.g., Schefflera digitata [Appendix J] and Fuchsia excorticata) such that none ''escaped'' to grow into saplings and then adults.…”

Section: Century-scale Effects Of Invasive Deer On Tree Populationssupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Although quantitative validation of model predictions was impossible, some short-term predictions were evaluated using data collected in other New Zealand forests following colonization by deer and rodents (e.g., Wardle et al 2001, Mason et al 2010, Wright et al 2012, and some long-term predictions were evaluated against palynological trends (e.g., McGlone et al 1996) and the predictions of a forest gap model simulator Hollinger 2000, Hall andMcGlone 2006). Similarly, no other study has partitioned out the effects of deer and rodents on the dynamics of New Zealand forests.…”

Section: Evaluation Of Model Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Century‐scale effects of invasive deer and rodents on the dynamics of forests growing on soils of contrasting fertility

Forsyth

Wilson

Easdale

et al. 2015

Ecological Monographs

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Understanding the long-term impacts of invasive mammalian browsers and granivores in mixed forests is difficult due to the many processes potentially affecting the demography of long-lived trees. We constructed individual-based spatially explicit simulation models of two mixed conifer-angiosperm forests, growing on soils of contrasting phosphorus (P) availability, to investigate how browsing by invasive red deer (Cervus elaphus scoticus) and granivory by invasive rodents (primarily house mouse Mus musculus) might alter forest dynamics. Models were parameterized with field data. Seedling growth and survival rates were estimated inside and outside deer exclosures. Seed predation rates were estimated at high and low rodent densities in mast and non-mast seeding years. For the alluvial terrace forest, which grew on P-rich soil, our model contained 15 tree species dominated by angiosperms; our model of the P-poor marine terrace forest contained seven species dominated by conifers. The two forest models were used to explore four 500-year scenarios: deer and rodents present, deer present and rodents absent, deer absent and rodents present, and deer and rodents absent.Our field studies revealed that the highest probabilities of seed predation by rodents occurred for two canopy species in mast years and in neighborhoods of high species-specific basal area, and that deer browsing had the greatest negative effects on the growth and survival rates of angiosperm seedlings. Our simulation models predicted that the presence of deer and rodents would reduce the abundances of canopy codominants, and hence total basal area, in the alluvial terrace forest. The presence of deer increased the dominance of conifers in both forests, but effects of deer and rodents were much stronger in the alluvial terrace forest. Our study revealed two emergent properties. First, rodent-and deer-induced reductions in seedling abundances did not always translate into reduced sapling and adult tree abundances. Second, when deer changed the abundance of a canopy dominant, other species were affected by altered interspecific competition.We conclude that the effects of invasive deer and rodents will be greatest in forests growing on P-rich soils. Exclusion of deer is predicted to have greater long-term effects on forest dynamics than exclusion of rodents.

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Section: Evaluation Of Model Predictionssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Century-scale Effects Of Invasive Deer On Tree Populationssupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Evaluation Of Model Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Century‐scale effects of invasive deer and rodents on the dynamics of forests growing on soils of contrasting fertility

Forsyth

Wilson

Easdale

et al. 2015

Ecological Monographs

Self Cite

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“…However, our results reveal a lag in plant community response to a reduction in deer browsing pressure. Recently published studies of forest ecosystem monitoring following the reduction of (over-)abundant deer populations generally highlight the slowness of the recovery process (Tanentzap et al 2009;Royo et al 2010;Wright et al 2012). In their review, Tanentzap et al (2012) explain this slow recovery of forest understory through (i) the long-term consequences of plant biomass consumption that reduces individual plant species' ability to react to reduced deer densities, (ii) consumption of reproductive structures and propagules that limit plants' ability to reproduce and colonize and (iii) the formation of recalcitrant understories that prevent from the recolonization of other species, particularly palatable species.…”

Section: Response Of Vegetation Communities To Decreasing Deer Browsimentioning

confidence: 99%

Decreasing deer browsing pressure influenced understory vegetation dynamics over 30 years

Boulanger

Baltzinger²,

Saı̈d

et al. 2014

Annals of Forest Science

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Abstract& Key message Thanks to the concomitant recordings of vegetation and deer browsing sampled first in 1976, then resurveyed in 2006, we show that forest plant communities shifted in response to deer population dynamics, stand management and eutrophication. & Context and aims High deer populations alter forest understory dynamics worldwide. However, no study ever attempted to rank the importance of deer herbivory relatively to other environmental drivers. In the Arc-en-Barrois National Forest (France), we investigated whether (i) deer browsing is a critical driver of vegetation composition and dynamics, (ii) the vegetation communities recover after a decrease in deer populations. & Methods In 2006, we resurveyed 321 plots from a network of 1027 plots where vegetation composition and browsing pressure was first assessed in 1976. We used coinertia analysis to identify the gradients in vegetation composition in 1976, when abiotic variables were also recorded. We assessed shifts in plant community composition using mean Ellenberg indicator values, analysed plot scores shifts along the axes of the coinertia analysis and correlated these shifts with changes in browsing pressure. & Results Two major gradients determined vegetation composition in 1976: edaphic variables (nitrogen availability and soil moisture) and browsing pressure. Over the next 30 years, we noticed a strong increase in nitrophilous plant species frequency and community composition shifted towards lightly browsed characteristics, accompanying a decrease in browsing pressure. Shifts in community composition were significantly correlated with the intensity of changes in browsing pressure, showing that deer population dynamics were a determinant driver of changes in plant assemblages. We observed an incomplete recovery of the communities 25 years after the reduction of deer densities, suggesting a delayed response to deer population reduction. Long-term monitoring of forest biodiversity should therefore include browsing pressure assessment to control for potential effects of wild ungulates.

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“…Thus, other methods to restore the vegetation (e.g., removing of unpalatable recalcitrant species [35]) inside of the fence would be necessary. Moreover, as Wright et al [36] suggested, complete removal of ungulates may be required for recovery in heavily browsed forest understory vegetation in New Zealand. Hence, the control of sika deer population should be required.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation Recovery in Response to the Exclusion of Grazing by Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) in Seminatural Grassland on Mt. Kushigata, Japan

2014

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We examined the recovery of vegetation in seminatural grassland in central Japan after eliminating grazing by sika deer (Cervus nippon) by fencing. By 2012, after 5 years of fencing for exclusion of sika deer, the species composition of quadrats within the enclosure reverted to the original species composition in 1981, not browsed by sika deer. Conversely, outside the fence was different from the baseline quadrats in 1981. Iris sanguinea, a prominent flower in the area, recovered within the enclosure, while it continued to decrease with grazing outside the fence. Nevertheless, the I. sanguinea cover had not recovered to the 1981 levels in the enclosure. Fencing can effectively restore vegetation as the species composition within the enclosure gradually reverts to the original vegetation. Preventing grazing in intensively grazed seminatural grassland might lead to different successional pathways. Since I. sanguinea did not recover fully within the enclosure and the species composition differed slightly from the original vegetation, this suggests that the vegetation within the enclosure will change to an alternative state. Therefore, different management is needed to promote the correct succession pathways for ecological restoration, perhaps by enhancing the colonization of target species, to prevent restored sites from giving rise to alternative states.

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Impacts of culling and exclusion of browsers on vegetation recovery across New Zealand forests

Cited by 52 publications

References 58 publications

Century‐scale effects of invasive deer and rodents on the dynamics of forests growing on soils of contrasting fertility

Century‐scale effects of invasive deer and rodents on the dynamics of forests growing on soils of contrasting fertility

Decreasing deer browsing pressure influenced understory vegetation dynamics over 30 years

Vegetation Recovery in Response to the Exclusion of Grazing by Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) in Seminatural Grassland on Mt. Kushigata, Japan

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