J. Bergquist et al., Effects of shelterwood and soil scarification on deer browsing on planted Norway spruce Picea abies L. (Karst) seedlings, FORESTRY, 74(4), 2001, pp. 359-367
The level of browsing damage to Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) seedli
ngs planted in shelterwoods was compared with the level of damage sustained
on clearcuts in a large-scale experiment in southern Sweden. Prior to cutt
ing, the forests contained a mixture of Norway spruce and Scots pine (Pinus
sylvestris L.), while the shelterwoods were dominated by pine. Each shelte
rwood and clearcut was divided into an area where the ground was scarified
before planting and an area where the ground was left untreated. During the
winter of 1996-1997, one to two years after planting, 11.7 per cent of the
spruce seedlings were browsed. Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) were like
ly to have been responsible for most of the damage. There were no significa
nt differences in the amount of damage between treatments. Bilberry (Vaccin
ium myrtillus L.), which is often regarded as an important food source for
roe deer during winter, was more common in shelterwoods than in clearcuts.
Nevertheless, roe deer tended to be more abundant in clearcuts than in shel
terwoods. Our results indicate that a choice between shelterwood and clearc
ut regeneration will only have a limited influence on the level of roe deer
browsing damage the first years after clearcutting.