A scoping review of evidence for the effects of seven global deer species on woody vegetation

Rapid expansion of deer (Cervidae) populations is a concern for forest ecosystems. Despite extensive reviews on how deer affect forests, variation in effects across deer species has received less attention. A lack of focus on species-specific effects may lead to oversights and failure to achieve desired management outcomes. We used a systematic approach to compile data on the extent to which the effects of seven deer species on woody vegetation have been studied. We focused on the six deer species present in Britain and Ireland, and elk (Cervus canadensis). A total of 455 worldwide studies were included. Red deer (Cervus elaphus) (n = 163) and elk (n = 158) were the most studied species, while Reeve’s muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) (n = 18) and Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) (n = 5) were the least researched. Fifty-four percent of studies (n = 245) used fenced exclosures to assess deer impacts. Research mainly focused on defoliation via browsing and grazing (n = 424), while debark..., Peer-reviewed journal articles were obtained by searching the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection for articles published between 1970 and 2024. The searches were restricted to the six deer species present in Britain and Ireland, and elk, including any subspecies. No geographic limits were imposed. We also searched the online thesis database Opengrey and the UK government website GOV.UK, which includes literature from Natural England, the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Forestry Commission.
When selecting Outcome search terms, each potential term was first entered into the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection along with the Population terms. Each Outcome search term was recorded with the date, the total number of hits, and whether relevant hits were returned. Outcome search terms were selected for the final search when they gave relevant results that were not already being generated by other terms. Search terms were put together in one additive search. Search terms..., , # A scoping review of evidence for the effects of seven global deer species on woody vegetation

Database of 455 selected articles collated from the scoping review.

## Description of the data and file structure

The columns are as follows:

* AUTHOR_LIST: Details of publication authors
* YEAR: Year of publication
* TITLE: Publication title
* Effect_category: Effect(s) of deer on woody vegetation, which were investigated in the publication
* Target_species_all: The focal deer species that were mentioned to be present in the study system. Can be one or more of seven species: *Capreolus caproelus, Cervus elaphus, Cervus canadensis, Cervus nippon, Dama dama, Hydropotes inermis, Muntiacus reevesi.*
* Additional_herbivores: Herbivore species other than the focal deer species reported to be present in the study system.
* Country: Country or countries in which the fieldwork for the publication took place.
* Location: More precise location of where the fieldwork took place.
* Mechanisms_all: Me...,