Abstract
- ABSTRACT.−Overabundance and associated impacts of deer on mainland forests of the United States have been topics of extensive investigation and management discussion. In contrast deer populations on barrier islands were considerably less studied with few investigations concerning impacts on maritime evergreen forest. In this study, we investigated how deer influenced understory vegetation and oak seedling survival following active reduction of deer through culling. Twenty 10 m x 10 m paired exclosure and control plots were established in 2007 and sampled in 2011 within a 77.3 ha state protected area on Bald Head Island, North Carolina. We found that deer did not influence understory vegetation during this time and that oak survival was low, but also not influenced by deer. Chronic overbrowsing (i.e., “ghost of herbivory past”) was ruled out because deer were not abundant on this island until the 1990s, oak seedlings were observed where light was not limiting, and deer have been observed browsing primarily in other parts of the island (e.g., golf course). Continued monitoring of the forest understory and maintenance of deer at the current population level will help conserve this rare forest type.