White-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus) influence on structure and composition of Tsuga canadensis forests.
Abstract
In T. canadensis forests in Wisconsin, Acer saccharum rapidly replaced T. canadensis when both were heavily browsed by deer. However, regeneration of T. canadensis soon recovered upon removal of browsing. Heavy browsing by excessive numbers of deer appears to be a major cause of the homogeneous age-structure of these forests.