Sustaining Forest Ecologies

Problem

How can scientists and land managers better address the ecological consequences of increasingly dense forests?

The densification of forests by undesirable trees in the eastern United States, which is often blamed on selective browsing by white-tailed deer, threatens the sustainability of many historically important tree species. 

Findings

Despite conflicting trends, researchers found that deer browsing has not controlled tree density on a landscape level because certain tree species, whether preferred by deer or not, generally have increased in eastern forests. Exceptions are the fire-adapted species such as oak, hickory, and pine, which have suffered more from a lack of fire.

The team analyzed U.S. Forest Service data of more than 1,000 forest inventory areas in 26 states east of the Mississippi River, calculated changes in tree stocking and species, and compared deer browse preferences with trends in species composition from current and historical tree surveys from as early as 1620.

Impact

This research may greatly change how scientists and forest managers view the role of deer in the ecology of eastern forests, redirecting management goals to include reducing the overstory density of undesired tree species and restoring natural fire cycles that help promote the historically dominant trees in the eastern United States. A reduction in deer density may help promote some desirable tree species but may also exacerbate the densification problem.

Related Research Area: Environmental Resilience

Research Credit

Team

• Marc Abrams, Brice Hanberry

Participating Departments

• Ecosystem Science and Management

Partner

• U.S. Forest Service

Competitive Funding

• U.S. Forest Service

Federal and State Appropriations

• USDA NIFA Hatch Project PEN04658, Accession #1016433

Emerging Discoveries

Deer browsing is not stopping the densification of Eastern forests

September 03, 2019

Selective browsing by white-tailed deer has been blamed by many for changing the character and composition of forest understories in the eastern U.S.; however, its impact on the forest canopy was previously unknown.

Published Research

Does white-tailed deer density affect tree stocking in forests of the Eastern United States? 

• Hanberry, B. B., & Abrams, M. D. (2019). Does white-tailed deer density affect tree stocking in forests of the Eastern United States? >Ecological Processes, 8(1), [30]. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-019-0185-5
  
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