Browsing and damage inflicted by moose in young Scots pine stands subjected to high-stump precommercial thinning

Sammanfattning

In Fennoscandia, young stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) are intensively used by moose (Alces alces L.) during winter. We studied whether forage amounts on high-cut pines in high-stump commercial thinning influenced browsing intensity and damage incidence on retained (i.e. uncut) pine stems. High-cut pines were browsed, but to a lesser extent than retained pines. At a scale corresponding to individual feeding sites (approximate to 40 m(2)), browsing intensity on retained pines was not influenced by the amount of forage on high-cut pines but was positively related to moose pellet group counts. The incidence of lower-height damage (stem breakage and bark stripping) was positively related to the amount of forage on high-cut pines, whereas higher damage (leader shoot browsing) was not. Overall browsing damage incidence on retained pines was positively related to the density of deciduous trees and negatively related to the amount of forage on retained pines. Our results suggest that although high-stump thinning supplies additional food resources for moose, larger amounts of forage on high-cut pines may increase the risk for bark stripping and stem breakage on retained trees. Further research is needed at larger spatial scales to assess the feasibility of high-stump thinning as a damage mitigation measure.

Nyckelord

high stump; moose; forest; ungulate damage; pre-commercial thinning

Publicerad i

Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research
2015, volym: 30, nummer: 5, sidor: 382-387

SLU författare

• Edenius, Lars

  • Institutionen för vilt, fisk och miljö, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Månsson, Johan

  • Institutionen för ekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Roberge, Jean-Michel

  • Institutionen för vilt, fisk och miljö, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Ericsson, Göran

  • Institutionen för vilt, fisk och miljö, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Associerade SLU-program

Skog

UKÄ forskningsämne

Ekologi
Skogsvetenskap

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02827581.2015.1021374

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/66026