ARE OVERABUNDANT DEER HERDS IN THE EASTERN UNITED-STATES CREATING ALTERNATE STABLE STATES IN FOREST PLANT-COMMUNITIES

The concept of an alternate stable state (i.e., a stable condition in an ecological community at a different stage than that which would be predicted, based on the prevailing ecological and successional conditi ons) has been examined in recent reviews in the literature of rangelan d vegetation communities. This concept also may be useful for understa nding the impacts of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) browsi ng on woody-plant communities. Our review of the literature revealed a t least 3 mechanisms whereby deer can create such states. We present a n example of an apparent alternate stable state created by deer, as we ll as several examples of suppressed forest regeneration that may be p recursors to such a state. Evidence suggests that deer may create alte rnate stable states in woody plant communities of the eastern United S tates. The trend of increasing deer populations in many parts of the e astern United States suggests that the ecological effects of deer on p lant communities may intensify in the future.