biostudies-literatureUnknown12(11)Morrison JATrees and shrubs in suburban forests can be subject to chronic herbivory from abundant white-tailed deer, influencing survival, growth, secondary metabolites, and ecological success in the community. We investigated how deer affect the size, cover, and metabolomes of four species in the understory of a suburban forest in central New Jersey, USA: the woody shrubs Euonymus alatus and Lindera benzoin, the tree Nyssa sylvatica, and the semi-woody shrub Rosa multiflora. For each species, we compared plants in 38 16 m2 plots with or without deer exclosure, measuring proportion cover and mean height after 6.5 years of fencing. We scored each species in all plots for deer browsing over 8 years and assessed selection by deer among the species. We did untargeteEcology and evolutione9475https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9643135biostudies-literatureEcological and metabolomic responses of plants to deer exclosure in a suburban forest.PMC9643135Morrison JAWoldemariam MfalseEcological and metabolomic responses of plants to deer exclosure in a suburban forest.Trees and shrubs in suburban forests can be subject to chronic herbivory from abundant white-tailed deer, influencing survival, growth, secondary metabolites, and ecological success in the community. We investigated how deer affect the size, cover, and metabolomes of four species in the understory of a suburban forest in central New Jersey, USA: the woody shrubs Euonymus alatus and Lindera benzoin, the tree Nyssa sylvatica, and the semi-woody shrub Rosa multiflora. For each species, we compared plants in 38 16 m2 plots with or without deer exclosure, measuring proportion cover and mean height after 6.5 years of fencing. We scored each species in all plots for deer browsing over 8 years and assessed selection by deer among the species. We did untargete2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Nov2025-04-25T19:34:09.694Z2025-04-06T08:02:42.744ZS-EPMC96431353638140210.1002/ece3.9475