文章基本信息

标题：Browsing Patterns of White-Tailed Deer Following Increased Timber Harvest and a Decline in Population Density
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作者：Shawn M. Crimmins ; John W. Edwards ; W. Mark Ford 等
期刊名称：International Journal of Forestry Research
印刷版ISSN：1687-9368
电子版ISSN：1687-9376
出版年度：2010
卷号：2010
DOI：10.1155/2010/592034
出版社：Hindawi Publishing Corporation
摘要：We examined browsing patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on a site in the central Appalachians that experienced a substantial (>50%) reduction in deer population density and an increase in the amount of timber harvest since 2001. We sampled woody browse in and immediately adjacent to 12 clearcuts ranging in age from 0–5 years postharvest in summer 2007. Clearcut-interior areas had higher woody browse abundance and browsing rates than clearcut-edge or mature forest areas. Woody browse abundance was slightly higher within individual clearcuts than in 2001 at higher population densities and lower timber harvest rates. Overall browsing rates declined from approximately 17% in 2001 to less than 5% during our study, suggesting that the combination of deer population control, and increasing the amount of timber harvest across the landscape can reduce herbivory to levels that may not impede growth and survival of forest vegetation.