Game Management Development Foundation agreement No. 23-00-S0MSF02-000002
The aim of the Study is to find out the influence of the elements present in young stands (litter, undergrowth, small bushes) on the incidence of damage caused by deer to the target species of the stand (pine, aspen or spruce). Stands from the "Monitoring of Deer Family Damage" (National Forest Monitoring) were used as research objects, in which additional data were collected on the condition of small bushes and the intensity of summer bites of deciduous trees and shrubs.
It was found that a higher number of deer excrement piles per ha in the surveyed young stands shows a positive relationship with a higher proportion of damaged trees of the target species. In young pine stands with a higher proportion of damaged trees, the average height of small shrubs was lower than in stands with a lower proportion of damaged trees, thus indicating possible conditions of competition between species of ungulates and (or) high population density of these species in the assessed areas. In young pine stands, the height of which exceeds the height of the trees of the dominant species can contribute to the occurrence of damage to the pines.