Skip Navigation

Forestry 2001 74(3):251-257; doi:10.1093/forestry/74.3.251
© 2001 by Institute of Chartered Foresters
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (18)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Morecroft, M.D.
Right arrow Articles by Quinn, S.A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Impacts of deer herbivory on ground vegetation at Wytham Woods, central England

M.D. Morecroft1, M.E. Taylor1, S.A. Ellwood2 and S.A. Quinn1

1 NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Oxford University Field Laboratory, Wytham, Oxford OX2 8QJ, England 2 Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, England

Between 1974 and 1992 there were declines in bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.) and several woodland forbs and an increase in grasses at Wytham Woods. These changes have been explained as effects of increasing deer populations. We set out to test this by establishing exclosure experiments in the summer of 1997. Comparison of permanent vegetation monitoring plots inside and outside the exclosures, showed that forbs tended to increase inside exclosures whilst decreasing in the wider wood, supporting the hypothesis that deer herbivory was responsible for the change. Changes in individual species were not, however, significant and it may take many years for the vegetation in the exclosures to reach a new equilibrium. In contrast to exclosures under the woodland canopy, additional exclosures in a clearing have been rapidly colonized by bramble. It appears there is an interaction between solar radiation and herbivory and the decline of bramble at Wytham may reflect canopy closure as well as deer herbivory. Faecal pellet counts made in Environmental Change Network monitoring plots between August 1998 and April 1999 indicated different habitat use by fallow (Dama dama) and muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) deer. Grasslands in proximity to the woodland tended to accumulate proportionally more fallow deer faeces, whilst dense ancient woodland areas tended to accumulate more muntjac faeces. There was, however, little evidence of an association between particular species of plant and differential habitat use by deer.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ForestryHome page
B. Mihok, K. Kenderes, K. J. Kirby, K. Paviour-Smith, and C. A. Elbourn
Forty-year changes in the canopy and the understorey in Wytham Woods
Forestry, August 4, 2009; (2009) cpp021v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ForestryHome page
M. D. Morecroft, V. J. Stokes, M. E. Taylor, and J. I.L. Morison
Effects of climate and management history on the distribution and growth of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) in a southern British woodland in comparison to native competitors
Forestry, February 5, 2008; (2008) cpm045v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.