Soil chemistry, and not short-term (1-2 year) deer exclusion, explains understory plant occupancy in forests affected by acid deposition.

ABSTRACT: The loss of species diversity and plant community structure throughout the temperate deciduous forests of North America have often been attributed to overbrowsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginanus). Slow species recovery following removal from browsing, or reduction in deer density, has been termed a legacy effect of past deer herbivory. However, vegetation legacy effects have also coincided with changes to soil chemistry throughout the north-eastern USA. In this paper, we assess the viability of soil chemistry (i.e. pH, extractable nutrients and extractable metals) and other factors (topography, light, overstory basal area and location) as alternative explanations for a lack of vegetation recovery. We compared the relative effects of soil chemistry, site conditions and short-ter

SUBMITTER: Begley-Miller DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6799995 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature