Role of Moose and Deer Browsing in Unharvested Forests of Southern New England since 2011

In the past 20 years, moose have spread south from Vermont and New Hampshire and recolonized their pre-historical range limit in southern New England from which they had been extirpated almost 200 years earlier. Intensive moose browsing in the boreal forest has caused declines in forest density and shifts in species composition in some areas, generating considerable interest and concern among foresters, wildlife managers, and ecologists as to how moose, along with white-tailed deer, will impact forest development in this region. Harvard Forest, in collaboration with researchers at the USGS Massachusetts Cooperative Research Unit, initiated a long-term study of the role of moose and deer in SNE forests using experimental enclosures: full enclosure, partial enclosure, and control plot.