Bark stripping by red deer in a post-disturbance area: The importance of security cover

Borkowski, Jakub; Ukalski, K.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.09.029

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…Red deer seem sensitive to disturbance (Sunde et al 2009, Sibbald et al 2011, Jarnemo and Wikenros 2014 and bark-stripping level has already been related to human activity (Petrak 1998, Ligot et al 2013. The intensity of damage thus likely depends both on the availability and the quality of day-time security cover (Borkowski and Ukalski 2012). Therefore it will probably be even more important to increase availability of alternative forage in forests within a fragmented landscape and if possible increase availability of habitats offering high-quality day-time security cover to counteract damage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing landscapes for multiple objectives: alternative forage can reduce the conflict between deer and forestry

Jarnemo¹,

Minderman²,

Zidar³

et al. 2014

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Deer (Cervidae) cause considerable damage to forest plantations, crops, and protected habitats.The most common response to this damage is to implement strategies to lower population densities. However, lowering deer density may not always be desirable from hunting, recreational, or conservation perspectives. Therefore, knowledge is needed about additional factors beyond deer density that affect damage levels, and management actions that consider competing management goals. We studied the relationships between levels of bark-stripping by red deer (Cervus elaphus) on Norway spruce (Picea abies) and (1) relative deer density indices (pellet group count and deer harvest data), (2) availability of alternative natural forage (cover of forage species) and (3) proportion forest in the landscape, both at a forest stand scale and at a landscape scale. Extensive variation in damage level was evident between the six study areas. On a stand scale, the proportion of spruce damaged was positively related to pellet group density, indicating the importance of local deer usage of stands. In addition, available alternative forage in the field layer within spruce stands and proportion forest surrounding stands was negatively related to damage level. On the landscape scale, damage level was negatively related to availability of forage in the field and shrub layers and proportion forest, but was not related to any of the relative deer density indices. Increasing alternative forage may thus decrease damage and thereby reduce conflicts. Additionally, the proportion of forest in the landscape affects damage levels and should thus be considered in landscape planning and when forecasting damage risk. The relationship between local deer usage of stands and damage level suggests that future studies should try to separate the effects of local deer usage and deer density.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing landscapes for multiple objectives: alternative forage can reduce the conflict between deer and forestry

Jarnemo¹,

Minderman²,

Zidar³

et al. 2014

Ecosphere

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“…Higher percentages of debarked small trees were also reported in many previous studies (Akashi and Nakashizuka 1999;Yokoyama et al 2001;Nagaike and Hayashi 2003;Jiang et al 2005;Kiffner et al 2008;Takeuchi et al 2011;Borkowski and Ukalski 2012), although the reasons were not clarified. One possibility for the selective debarking of small trees is the relative ease of debarking smaller trees (Ando et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Debarking was shown to depend on the size of trees (e.g., Nagaike and Hayashi 2003;Koda and Fujita 2011;Borkowski and Ukalski 2012), their species (e.g., Kay 1993;Akashi and Nakashizuka 1999;Moore et al 1999;Takeuchi et al 2011), proportion of coniferous stands (Ligot et al 2013), the distance from forest road (McLaren et al 2000), and snow depth (Iijima and Nagaike 2015). In addition to these factors, spatial variation of deer impact was observed in lower elevation forests: the higher the deer density, the higher the proportion of debarked trees (Iijima and Nagaike 2015) and browsed saplings (Akashi et al 2011) and the lower the sapling density (Beguin et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Susceptible conditions for debarking by deer in subalpine coniferous forests in central Japan

Iijima

Nagaike

2015

For. Ecosyst.

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Background: Recently, deer have expanded their distribution to higher altitude ranges including subalpine forests. However, culling deer and construction of deer fence in subalpine forests are difficult because of steep slopes and complex topography. Thus it is necessary to clarify the factors which are associated with debarking by deer for the effective protection of subalpine forests. In this study, we examined which factors are associated with debarking by sika deer (Cervus nippon) in subalpine coniferous forests. Methods: We conducted our survey in Minami-Alps National Park, central Japan. We established 24 10 m × 40 m plots and surveyed the occurrence of debarking on saplings >30 cm in height and <3 cm in diameter at breast height (DBH) and on trees >3 cm in DBH, as well as sapling density within each plot. Minimum distances to nearest grassland of plots were calculated (tentatively assuming grassland would attract deer and would cause high debarking pressure in the surrounding subalpine forests).

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“…Bark thickens, stiffens, adheres more strongly to the trunk and is less palatable when trees are growing. These changes reduce sensitivity to BS (Gill, 1992;Jarnemo et al, 2014;Jerina et al 2008;Månsson and Jarnemo 2013;Vospernik 2006;Borkowski and Ukalski 2012;Honda et al 2008). Tree species with early-thickening bark have a short bark peeling sensitivity period, while slowly thickening bark species stay sensitive up to age 60 years (Fehér et al 2016).…”

Section: Stand Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigation of bark stripping on spruce: the need for red deer population control

et al. 2020

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Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) is a major production tree species for the European wood industry. However, it is highly sensitive to bark stripping (BS) by red deer (Cervus elaphus L.), which causes large timber losses. Because the red deer population has increased over the last decades, a better understanding of the underlying causes driving BS is urgently needed. BS outbreaks are multifactorial: winter food shortage, local and regional deer abundance and stand properties (thermal and visual cover, and scarcity of herbaceous layers) have been found to drive BS rates. Although the influence of each of these factors is well studied, there is still no consensus on their relative contributions to BS or what mitigation strategy is best. In this study, we made use of a long-term, large-scale BS inventory (13 years over 2570 km 2) to fill these gaps. We modeled winter and summer BS rates in response to the most explanatory variables, selected from a large set of environmental variables. Our results highlight the prevalence of deer abundance combined with high sensitivity of coniferous thickets and pronounced habitat selection by deer for these stands. Our findings show that the control of red deer populations is a key measure for reducing BS in Norway spruce stands.

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Bark stripping by red deer in a post-disturbance area: The importance of security cover

Cited by 21 publications

References 27 publications

Managing landscapes for multiple objectives: alternative forage can reduce the conflict between deer and forestry

Managing landscapes for multiple objectives: alternative forage can reduce the conflict between deer and forestry

Susceptible conditions for debarking by deer in subalpine coniferous forests in central Japan

Mitigation of bark stripping on spruce: the need for red deer population control

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