Role of Moose and Deer Browsing in Harvested Forests of Southern New England since 2008

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 a control plot.

近二十年来，驼鹿从佛蒙特州与新罕布什尔州向南扩散，重新占据了新英格兰南部的史前分布范围——该区域在近200年前曾将驼鹿彻底局部灭绝。北方针叶林内高强度的驼鹿啃食活动，已导致部分区域林分密度下降、物种组成发生改变，这引发了林学家、野生动物管理者与生态学家的广泛关注与担忧：他们关切驼鹿与白尾鹿将如何共同影响该区域的森林发育进程。哈佛森林（Harvard Forest）联合美国地质调查局马萨诸塞合作研究组（USGS Massachusetts Cooperative Research Unit），启动了一项针对驼鹿与白尾鹿在新英格兰南部（Southern New England，简称SNE）森林中生态作用的长期研究，实验通过设置三类围栏样地开展：全围栏样地、半围栏样地与对照样地。