Bark stripping to coniferous trees by Sika deer (Cervus nippon) on Mt Ohdaigahara, central Japan
2008
Kamata, A.(Nagoya Univ. (Japan)) | Ando, M. | Shibata, E.
To clarify the manner of bark stripping to coniferous trees by sika deer (Cervus nippon) on Mt. Ohdaigahara, central Japan, we investigated: (1) the relationship between bark stripping and tree size, (2) the difference in bark stripping between trunk and butt swelling, and (3) the difference in bark stripping between the parts adjacent to wounds that debarked formerly and untouched parts. We surveyed the number, position, and the area of bark stripping wounds on trunks and butt swellings of Abies homolepis and Picea jezoensis var. hondoensis, which are declining species, in the 45 plots in Mt. Ohdaigahara. Bark stripping on trunks of both A. homolepis and P. jezoensis in every DBH (diameter at breast height) class showed no clear trend, suggesting no DBH preference. There were significantly more bark stripping wounds on butt swellings than on trunks in both A. homolepis and P. jezoensis, while the wound area is significantly larger on trunks than butt swellings in both A. homolepis and P. jezoensis. There were significantly more stripping wounds on the part adjacent to wounds that debarked formerly than on untouched parts, indicating that deer selectively debark the parts adjacent to wounds, probably because the wound edge is more easily accessible. Thus, deer seem to debark butt swellings and wound edges, enlarging them little-by-little.
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