Effects of large herbivore browsing on understory vegetation in the northern foothills of Hida Mountain, Nagano Prefecture
2019
Kuroe, M. (Nagano Environmental Conservation Research Institute, Nagano (Japan). Natural Environment Division) | Ozeki, M. | Ohashi, H. | Hotta, M.
To reveal the current distribution of the sika deer and its impact on understory vegetation around northern North Alps where the sika deer has never been inhabit over the last hundred years, field signs of deer were investigated from Otari village to Ohmachi city along the foot of North Alps in Nagano prefecture. The amount of the field signs such as browsing, fecal pellet and footprints were gradually increased from Otari to Ohmachi. At Kashima and Oguma-yama in Ohmachi city, the number of browsed plants per survey site was largest, and the forest floor were occupied by the deer unpalatable plants. Boehmeria silvestrii and Daphniphyllum macropodum were browsed evenly among the study areas, on the other hand, Euonymus hamiltonianus, Euonymus alatus and Sapindaceae sp. were browsed heavily in Ohmachi city. The latter species were thought to be browsed selectively by sika deer. Kashima, the foot of the Mt. Jiigatake, was one of the most browsed area, and deers have been observed a few times in alpine area of Mt. Jiigatake since 2013. The rare alpine vegetation at Mt Shirouma and Mt. Karamatsu would be changed by deer browsing, if the deer continuously increase in its' foot in Hakuba village.
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