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The vertical dimension of deer browse effects on forest understories
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Rohleder, Linda. The vertical dimension of deer browse effects on forest understories. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3Z036R8

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TitleThe vertical dimension of deer browse effects on forest understories
NameRohleder, Linda (author); Holzapfel, Claus (chair); Morin, Peter J (internal member); Handel, Steven N (internal member); Carson, Walter P (outside member); Rutgers University; Graduate School - New Brunswick
Date Created2013
Other Date2013-05 (degree)
SubjectEcology and Evolution, Forests and forestry--New Jersey, Forests and forestry--Maryland, Deer--Food--New Jersey, Deer--Food--Maryland, Forest plants--Effect of browsing on--New Jersey, Forest plants--Effect of browsing on-Maryland
Extentx, 105 p. : ill., maps
DescriptionThroughout their range, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have significantly altered the diversity and productivity of plants upon which they browse in forest understories as well as the average heights of many of these species, yet traditional vegetation surveys can fail to capture changes occurring at higher levels in the vertical dimension. In Chapter 1 I examine fine-scale understory changes in the vertical dimension by measuring vegetation density and species richness at 20 cm intervals from ground level to two meters at 44 pre-existing deer exclosures of various ages in New Jersey and Maryland forests. I found that vertical vegetation density and species richness were significantly greater at every height when protected from deer. Deer affected density at all heights somewhat evenly but the impact on species richness was significantly greater in the lower heights. The impact on species richness was significantly correlated to exclosure age at virtually every height. My results indicate that multiple heights must be measured to obtain a full picture of deer impacts. In Chapter 2 I explored the relationship of the vertical species richness profile to deer densities by measuring species richness at 20 cm intervals up to two meters across 10 forests in the Washington D.C. region with a gradient of deer densities (5 deer/km2 to 78 deer/km2). Vertical profiles of species richness followed a negative exponential distribution for all sites with the coefficient of the exponential describing the rate of understory species loss in the vertical dimension. This species attenuation coefficient was linearly related to the deer density explaining 31% of the variation. In Chapter 3 I test various floristic quality indicators for their ability to capture the effects of deer on forests. Using data collected at the same exclosures and forests as above, I found that the Floristic Quality Assessment Index (FQAI) and the Plant Stewardship Index (PSI) indicated increased quality inside deer exclosures that increased slowly the longer the plots had been protected from deer browse. FQAI and PSI were also well-correlated to deer densities (r2 = 0.25 and 0.31, respectively) showing decreased quality as deer density increased.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Noteby Linda Rohleder
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3Z036R8
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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