Modelling white-tailed deer impacts on forest regeneration to inform deer management options at landscape scales

Abstract

Long-term continuity of forest cover in eastern North America may be threatened in part by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), but effectively managing that threat requires greater understanding of the multi-scale nature of deer browsing pressure and other forces affecting forest regeneration. We isolated the effects of white-tailed deer on the regeneration of ten ecologically and commercially important tree species across the state of New York by fitting forest regeneration models with variables representing fine-scale plant competition, stand-scale seed dispersal, and region-wide patterns of climate, land-use, and deer abundance. Deer effects were not consistent across species or space. Increasing deer abundance was associated with declining seedling abundance for six species (Acer rubrum, Picea rubens, Pinus strobus, Tsuga canadensis, Prunus serotina, and Abies balsamea), and nonlinear changes (peaking at intermediate deer abundance) for four species (Acer saccharum, Betula alleghaniensis, Fagus grandifolia, Fraxinus americana). Models further indicated: (1) in many areas, meaningful increases in tree seedling abundance may not be achievable by reducing deer abundance alone; (2) in some areas, modest reductions in deer abundance may improve forest regeneration—these would be of high deer management priority; and (3) in some areas, the magnitude of deer population reductions required to achieve meaningful improvement in forest regeneration may be too large to be practical. Predicting forest regeneration across heterogeneous landscapes is complex, and isolating the effects of deer requires greater understanding of multiple potentially limiting and interacting factors (e.g., land-use, climate, forest characteristics). Our approach, based on readily available spatial data, may help prioritize areas, define management goals, and lay a foundation for adaptive management of deer to improve forest regeneration.