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Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 22, Number 2 (1971) → Physical Versus Chemical Means of Deterring Browsing of Douglas-Fir by Black-Tailed Deer

Physical Versus Chemical Means of Deterring Browsing of Douglas-Fir by Black-Tailed Deer

Winter browsing on newly established Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) plantations by black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) can contribute toward inadequate stocking in young plantations. Before the first growing season after outplanting, browsing deer are capable of pulling 2-0 seedlings from the ground. The incidence of such removals increases in areas of coarse-textured soils and with repeated seedling browsing on overstocked deer ranges. Previous work 3 has shown that with heavy browsing pressure, deer have pulled from 15 to 20 percent of all browsed seedlings from the ground and under extreme conditions, losses have amounted to 10 percent of the total plantation. Such mortality, when combined with that from all other causes, can result in inadequate plantation stocking by the end of the first growing season. Removal of seedlings by browsing deer is uncommon after 1 year of root growth and soil compaction.


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Author(s): William W. Hines

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 22, Number 2 (1971)

Volume: 22

Number: 2