Positive impact of large wild herbivore exclusion on silver fir regeneration: A case study from the Poľana Mountains, Central Slovakia

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41320%2F24%3AN0000041" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41320/24:N0000041 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/forj-2024-0007" target="_blank" >https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/forj-2024-0007</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/forj-2024-0007" target="_blank" >10.2478/forj-2024-0007</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Positive impact of large wild herbivore exclusion on silver fir regeneration: A case study from the Poľana Mountains, Central Slovakia

Original language description

In forest ecosystems, the browsing activity of large wild herbivores (LWH) often leads to reduced tree and plant diversity, diminished biomass production, and challenges in achieving forest management objectives. Our case study focuses on assessing the impact of LWH browsing during the initial stages of forest growth by comparing fenced plots (F plots) with excluded LWH and control plots (C plots) with the presence of LWH. The experiment took place at the Hukavsk & yacute; Gr & uacute;& ncaron; research site in the Po & lcaron;ana Mts., characterized by a high red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) population. Fifteen F plots and fifteen C plots, all situated within mixed maternal forests, were established in the 2023 growing season. Thus, circular plots with a radius of 2.5 m were utilized, and comprehensive data were collected on young trees (excluding those under 10 cm in height), covering tree species, positions, heights, and stem diameters. Species-specific allometric relations were employed to calculate the aboveground biomass of each tree, contributing to the overall biomass stock on a plot basis. A comparison between F and C plots revealed a prevalence of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) in F plots, while European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) dominated C plots. F plots exhibited higher tree species diversity (4.5 species), contrasting with the lower diversity (2.0 species) and absence of silver fir in C plots. The F plots also demonstrated greater tree density and sizes, resulting in substantial differences in aboveground biomass stocks. Browsing in C plots predominantly affected tree height rather than stem diameter, leading to a bigger height-to-diameter ratio in F plots compared to C plots. We suggest that fencing as a method to exclude LWH might be economically expensive and provide a temporary solution limited by the functionality of the fence. Therefore, the primary strategy for safeguarding the future of silver fir may lie in regulating LWH populations to a reasonable threshold.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

40100 - Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries

Project

—

Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Central European Forestry Journal

ISSN

2454-034X

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

70

Issue of the periodical within the volume

4

Country of publishing house

PL - POLAND

Number of pages

15

Pages from-to

248-262

UT code for WoS article

001349338600006

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85209882914