Deer Browsing Just One Factor Shaping NA Forests

In a study that likely is more notable for how it was conducted than for what it found, a Penn State-led research team discovered evidence that browsing by white-tailed deer had relatively little long-term impact on two tree species in a northern forest.

The research took place in both fenced and unfenced plots in a one-square-mile area in the Flambeau River State Forest, Wisconsin, which had an estimated deer density of about 18-31 deer per square mile at the beginning of the study. With seven years of data, researchers examined survival and growth of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and ash (...