Metadata from: Do intra-forest meadows influence browsing pressure on tree seedlings? A case study on silver fir, spruce and beech

Metadata from the study: "Do intra-forest meadows influence browsing pressure on tree seedlings? A case study on silver fir, spruce and beech" Abstract: Over the last decades, expanding populations of large herbivores have compromised tree regeneration in many Northern Hemisphere forests. Seedlings browsing pressure can vary spatially as large herbivores forage through the landscape, according to the availability of food resource. Open habitats, like intra-forest meadows, attract red deer (Cervus elaphus) as they are perceived to offer substantial food resource. However, the influence of intra-forest meadows on seedlings browsing pressure have not been explored yet. We assessed browsing spatial distribution according to the presence of intra-forest meadows, using an 18-year dataset of seedlings abundance and browsing observation in a study area of North-Eastern France. We investigated the browsing probability of silver fir, Norway spruce and beech seedlings according to the presence of intra-forest meadows. We considered whether species availability, bramble availability, red deer abundance index and forest fruits presence index could influence seedlings browsing. We did not identify an influence of intra-forest meadows on the browsing probability of the less palatable Norway spruce and beech. The presence of intra-forest meadows reduced silver fir browsing probability only when silver fir cover on the plot did not exceed 12.5% and when forest fruits were present on the study site. On the study site, the browsing probability of silver fir was minimal at a distance of about 366 m from intra-forest meadows. The results of this case study indicate that the presence of intra-forest meadows could influence some tree species browsing intensity and spatial distribution but it does not consistently lower browsing pressure on forest regeneration.