%0 Journal Article
%T Effects of Deer Settling Stimulus and Deer Density on Regeneration in a Harvested Southern New England Forest
%A Kevin J. Barrett
%A Oswald J. Schmitz
%J International Journal of Forestry Research
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/690213
%X Elevated deer densities have led to reports of forest regeneration failure and ecological damage. However, there is growing evidence that the biophysical conditions of a forest that make it attractive to deer may be a contributing factor in determining browsing levels. Thus, an understanding of settling stimulus¡ªhow attractive an area is to deer in terms of food-independent habitat requirements¡ªis potentially important to manage deer browsing impacts. We tested the settling stimulus hypothesis by evaluating the degree to which thermal settling stimulus and deer density are related to spatial variation in browsing intensity across different forest harvesting strategies over the course of a year. We determined if deer were impacting plant communities and if they resulted in changes in plant cover. We quantified the thermal environment around each harvest and tested to see if it influenced deer density and browsing impact. We found that deer had an impact on the landscape but did not alter plant cover or diminish forest regeneration capacity. Deer density and browse impact had a relationship with thermal settling stimulus for summer and fall months, and deer density had a relationship with browse impact in the winter on woody plants. We conclude that thermal settling stimulus is an important predictor for deer density and browsing impact. 1. Introduction The slowing or failure of the regeneration of high value timber species in the northeastern USA is often attributed to high white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) abundances [1, 2]. In particular, above threshold densities of 10 to 15 deer km£¿2, deer are reported to alter forest composition via selective browsing of woody plant species such as eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), red maple (Acer rubrum) sprouts, and Rubus spp. [1, 3¨C5]. Heavy browsing may in turn cause forest regeneration failure and decreased vertical structural complexity of forest stands that may impact wildlife habitat and ecosystem functions such as nutrient mineralization rates [6¨C10]. Selective browsing by highly abundant deer populations may also interact with forest management, causing areas to entrain into altered stable states [11] and creating savannah-like areas dominated by ferns, grasses, and sedges that inhibit forest regeneration [1]. Nevertheless, deer density and selective browsing alone may not always explain spatial and temporal variation in vegetation impacts [12, 13]. Instead, available forage in relation to settling stimulus¡ªhow attractive an area is in terms of the food-independent habitat requirements of deer,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfr/2013/690213/