Effects of 13-year fencing on browsing by sika deer on seedlings on Mt. Ohdaigahara, central Japan

Abstract

We examined the effects of fencing on deer browsing on seedlings 13 years after the building the experimental fence on Mt. Ohdaigahara, central Japan, where the sika deer (Cervus nippon) population is high. There was no difference in the species number of seedlings between 1991 and 2004. The density of seedlings in the fenced plot in 2004 was three times higher than in 1991. Although the unfenced plots had no seedlings higher than 20cm, there were seedlings up to 120cm in the fenced plot. These results suggest that 13-year fencing promoted regeneration of seedlings in this area.