Impact of Herbivory and Competition on Compensatory Growth in Woody Plants: Winter Browsing by Moose on Scots Pine

Abstract

The potential for compensatory growth in plants can depend on growth form and environmental conditions experienced by individual plants. We determined the degree to which a conifer, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), compensates for biomass losses. By systematically clipping current annual shoots at four different intensities during three consecutive years we simulated winter browsing by moose (Alces alces). To assess the impact of between-tree competition on compensatory growth, clipping was performed at two different tree densities. In terms of current annual shoot growth, individual pines did not overcompensate in response to clipping in any of the treatments, although a tendency towards overcompensation was observed at low clipping intensities under crowded conditions