Boom and bust of a moose population: a call for integrated forest management

Milner, Jos M.; Beest, Floris M. van; Storaas, Torstein

doi:10.1007/s10342-013-0727-9

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…This is consistent with general forestry patterns in Fennoscandia, whereby declines in logging and subsequent rejuvenation lead to less available natural browse for moose, whilst hunting interests keep the moose population high (Lavsund et al, 2003;Milner et al, 2013).…”

Section: Food Availability and Forest Damage At The Landscape Scalesupporting

confidence: 80%

Long-term effects of supplementary feeding of moose on browsing impact at a landscape scale

Mathisen¹,

Milner²,

Beest

et al. 2014

Forest Ecology and Management

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Supplementary feeding of wildlife is a common management practice, increasingly used to reduce or divert herbivore impact from sensitive habitats, forestry or agriculture. The landscape-scale spatial distribution of herbivory in relation to supplementary or diversionary feeding stations is of particular relevance to wildlife and land management, yet has never been quantified. We considered multiple hypotheses, based on central-place foraging theory, to investigate how landscape-scale browsing impact changed as a function of distance from feeding stations and thereby test the effectiveness of diversionary feeding. We assessed the landscape-scale browsing impact of moose by quantifying browsing patterns and moose density in commercially-valuable young Scots pine stands in an area of south-east Norway with a long history of winter feeding. We also used positions from GPS-collared female moose to investigate the spatial distribution of individuals across the landscape. Moose density and browsing impact at a fine spatial scale (<1km) followed an exponential decrease with distance from diversionary feeding stations. However, at a landscape scale (1-10 km), browsing impact did not show any relationship with distance to feeding stations. Leader stem browsing on Scots pine trees was high at both the local (< 1 km; 68 ± 12 %) and landscape (1-10 km; 56 ± 7 %) scales. In addition, browsing on commercially valuable Norway spruce, which is normally avoided by moose, was locally high around feeding stations. As currently practiced, long-term diversionary feeding of moose was ineffective in diverting browsing impact from young pine stands at the landscape scale. Browsing on commercially-important tree species was sufficiently high that economic consequences could be expected. To avoid further conflict, we suggest a combination of reducing the moose density and increasing the availability of natural or more attractive supplementary forage.

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Section: Food Availability and Forest Damage At The Landscape Scalesupporting

confidence: 80%

Long-term effects of supplementary feeding of moose on browsing impact at a landscape scale

Mathisen¹,

Milner²,

Beest

et al. 2014

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…If the preferred option is to retain animal densities, the larger question must therefore be raised as to what alternatives are available or even preferable to supplementary feeding. With respect to alleviating forest damage, plausible alternatives involve increasing the amount of natural browse at larger spatial scales to minimize the contrast in food availability between regenerating stands and the surrounding mature forest (Kuijper et al 2009;Milner et al 2013), and thereby decrease the browsing damage burden on any one forest owner (Heikkilä and Härkönen 1996;Herfindal et al 2015;. For example, due to the concerted effort of a large number of private forest owners in one region of southern Sweden, the planting of Scot's pine has increased significantly in recent years, resulting in lower rates of forest damage and less conflict between hunters and forest owners (pers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Partly countering these losses, the predominance of even-aged forest management ensures that a flush of edible vegetation is provided, at least in unfenced stands, for the first decade after clear-cutting (Wam et al 2016). However, efforts to remove competing broadleaf tree species (predominantly birch) during stand cleaning and thinning operations reduce the potential availability of these preferred species of browse, even in young stands (Milner et al 2013).…”

Section: The Swedish Context: Forest Management and Supplementary Feementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Browsers affect forestry by damaging production trees, and forestry affects ungulates by changing tree composition and age structure of the forest landscape (Wam et al in press), with associated implications for food and shelter availability (Kuijper 2011;Kuijper et al 2009;Milner et al 2013). The potential influence of supplementary feeding on ungulate browsing behavior and community composition adds to this complex web of interactions.…”

Section: Implications For Forest Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interactions between ungulates, forests, and supplementary feeding: the role of nutritional balancing in determining outcomes

et al. 2016

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People provide wild ungulates with large quantities of supplementary feed to improve their health and survival and reduce forest damage. Whereas supplementary feeding can positively affect the winter survival of ungulates and short-term hunting success, some of the feeds provided may actually reduce ungulate health and increase forest damage. Here, we highlight how recent advances in ungulate nutritional ecology can help explain why supplementary feeding can lead to undesirable outcomes. Using Europe's largest cervid, the moose (Alces alces), as a model species, and Sweden, as the socio-ecological context, we explain the concept of nutritional balancing and its relevance to supplementary feeding. Nutritional balancing refers to how animals alter their food intake to achieve a specific nutritional target balance in their diet, by selecting balanced food items or by combining items with nutritional compositions that are complimentary. As the most common supplementary feeds used contain higher concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates than the ungulates' normal winter diet, the consumption of such feeds may cause animals to increase their intake of woody browse, and thereby exacerbate forest damage. We also explain how animal health may be negatively affected by large intakes of such feed if complementary browse items are not available. We therefore suggest that the use of inappropriate feed is an additional means by which supplementary feeding may result in negative outcomes for hunters, forest owners, and wild animals.

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“…Recent increases in the population sizes of several species of mammalian herbivores in forested ecosystems have thus been met with calls for management intervention (Côté et al 2004;Di Stefano 2004;Menkhorst 2008). In many situations, direct reduction in population numbers by culling is not desirable, particularly where the aim is to manage forests for multiple uses, such as coupling timber production with ecosystem services, maintenance of biodiversity, recreation and hunting (Milner et al 2013). One alternative for reducing damage by abundant mammalian Communicated by Gediminas Brazaitis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient application of a browsing repellent: Can associational effects within and between plants be exploited?

et al. 2019

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Browsing can reduce forest productivity, particularly when the apical shoots of trees are damaged. Repellents are used widely to reduce browsing, but application is costly. To improve efficiency, it may be possible to take advantage of associational plant refuge effects, requiring repellents to be applied only to some trees or parts of trees, or reapplied less frequently. Using captive moose (Alces alces) and constructed stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), we tested for potential refuges by applying a commercial repellent (HaTe2) to all, alternate or none of the apical shoots, or all of the previous-year apical shoots. We also tested for potential refuges under field conditions, applying the repellent to all, alternate or none of the apical pine shoots in forest stands. Captive moose (two individuals in a 2.1-ha enclosure, ~ 95 individuals km −2) browsed 100% of trees, but were significantly less likely to browse apical shoots treated with repellent. Associational refuge was ineffective both within and between trees. In the field (0.84 moose km −2), only 1.3% of trees sustained browsing damage. Applying the repellent to the apical shoots of pines had no direct repellent effect nor any within-plant associational effects. Trees with treated apical shoots provided some protection for untreated neighbouring trees, but this was not biologically meaningful given the low percentage of trees browsed overall. Here, a simple captive experiment was not predictive of the browsing response observed in the field, demonstrating the need to test repellent application strategies in situ.

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Boom and bust of a moose population: a call for integrated forest management

Cited by 16 publications

References 44 publications

Long-term effects of supplementary feeding of moose on browsing impact at a landscape scale

Long-term effects of supplementary feeding of moose on browsing impact at a landscape scale

Interactions between ungulates, forests, and supplementary feeding: the role of nutritional balancing in determining outcomes

Efficient application of a browsing repellent: Can associational effects within and between plants be exploited?

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