Ungulate browsing blocks restoration of coniferous European Sand Belt forests into a broadleaved state

IF 4.2 2区农林科学 Q1 FORESTRY

Forest Ecology and Management Pub Date : 2026-04-15 Epub Date: 2026-02-02 DOI:10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123558

Jan den Ouden , Patrick A. Jansen , Leontien Krul , Annemieke Visser-Winterink , Jakob Leidekker

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Tree browsing by ungulates may act as a strong biotic filter on forest regeneration. In the western part of the so-called European sand belt, browsing is believed to block restoration of coniferous forests into a broadleaved-dominated state, but this process remains poorly documented. The aim of this study was to better understand the dynamics of tree recruitment in a forest landscape at the European sand belt, using food selection and apparent competition via shared natural enemies as frameworks. We monitored tree regeneration and browsing during 2012–2024 in permanent plots across De Hoge Veluwe National Park (the Netherlands) in transects as well as in exclosures paired with control plots. We found that food selection was not mediated by landscape-level characteristics, but rather by tree species identity. Tree species preferred by ungulates had less height growth when subject to browsing. Exclusion of ungulates led to a substantial increase in height growth of preferred species, while the relative height of avoided species was reduced, indicating apparent competition. Forest regeneration inside exclosures converged to a community of mixed broad-leaved species. These results confirm that browsing in this system indeed hampers the restoration of coniferous forest towards a broadleaved forest. Attempts to diversify these forests and increase resilience to climate change cannot succeed under current ungulate densities.

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有蹄类动物的浏览阻碍了欧洲沙带针叶林向阔叶状态的恢复

有蹄类动物啃食树木可能对森林再生起到强大的生物过滤器作用。在所谓的欧洲沙带的西部，人们认为森林的浏览阻碍了针叶林向阔叶林主导状态的恢复，但这一过程的记录很少。本研究的目的是更好地理解欧洲沙带森林景观中树木补充的动态，以食物选择和通过共同天敌进行的明显竞争为框架。2012-2024年，我们在荷兰De Hoge Veluwe国家公园的永久样地以及与对照样地配对的封闭样地监测了树木的更新和浏览情况。我们发现，食物选择不是由景观水平特征介导的，而是由树种特性介导的。有蹄类动物偏好的树种在受食食影响时高度增长较低。排除有蹄类动物导致优先种的高度增长显著增加，而避免种的相对高度下降，表明存在明显的竞争。封地内的森林更新趋向于混合阔叶物种群落。这些结果证实，在这个系统中，取食确实阻碍了针叶林向阔叶林的恢复。在目前有蹄类动物密度的情况下，使这些森林多样化和提高对气候变化的适应能力的努力不可能成功。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Forest Ecology and Management 农林科学-林学

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

10.80%

发文量

665

审稿时长

39 days

期刊介绍： Forest Ecology and Management publishes scientific articles linking forest ecology with forest management, focusing on the application of biological, ecological and social knowledge to the management and conservation of plantations and natural forests. The scope of the journal includes all forest ecosystems of the world. A peer-review process ensures the quality and international interest of the manuscripts accepted for publication. The journal encourages communication between scientists in disparate fields who share a common interest in ecology and forest management, bridging the gap between research workers and forest managers. We encourage submission of papers that will have the strongest interest and value to the Journal''s international readership. Some key features of papers with strong interest include: 1. Clear connections between the ecology and management of forests; 2. Novel ideas or approaches to important challenges in forest ecology and management; 3. Studies that address a population of interest beyond the scale of single research sites, Three key points in the design of forest experiments, Forest Ecology and Management 255 (2008) 2022-2023); 4. Review Articles on timely, important topics. Authors are welcome to contact one of the editors to discuss the suitability of a potential review manuscript. The Journal encourages proposals for special issues examining important areas of forest ecology and management. Potential guest editors should contact any of the Editors to begin discussions about topics, potential papers, and other details.