Woody regeneration response to over a decade of deer population reductions in Indiana state parks1

Abstract

Abstract While hunting is employed as a means to control overabundant populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and reduce the negative effects of herbivory, few studies have examined whether recovery of forest regeneration occurs following a long-term controlled hunting program. In Indiana state parks, controlled hunts were implemented in the 1990s to reduce deer population abundance and allow vegetation communities to recover. In 1996 and 1997, long-term vegetation monitoring plots were established in 16 state parks and six historically hunted reference areas to monitor vegetation response to hunting. We resampled these plots in 2010 to examine how deer reductions affected woody stem density and species composition in three height classes: 200 cm. We also examined changes in species richness (S), evenness (E), and Shannon-Wiener diversity (H′) between 1996–97 and 2010. Temporal changes were tested with generalized linear mixed models. Density in the < 50 cm heig...