The puzzle of forestry and ungulate interactions – a missing piece is in the understory

Dwarf-shrubs, including bilberry, cowberry, and heather, often dominate understory vegetation at northern latitudes.

These plants provide a range of ecosystem services and essential food resources for populations of large wild herbivores, such as moose and deer (Ungulata, Cervidae).

Over recent decades however, the cover of dwarf shrubs has declined in Sweden, partly due to production forests becoming denser and darker.

In addition to the direct ecological implications of this decline for biodiversity and ecosystem services, it raises serious concerns regarding the resultant impacts on cervid populations, and the extent of damage they cause to young trees in production stands.

The main objective of this study is to develop mathematical models and use them to assess how different silvicultural alternatives change the long-term availability, quality and distribution of cervid forage.

To reach that objective we will also fill another key knowledge gap: how dwarf shrub cover (used in national forest inventories) translates into edible biomass and nutrition for cervids under different forest conditions.

Our work will provide a better understanding of the complex feedbacks and interactions between forest management decisions, understorey vegetation and game populations.

Resultant tools will directly benefit stakeholders in their efforts to mitigate forest damage and achieve a better balance between herbivore populations and forage availability.