—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 30,1978
102
Deer
UNIVERSITY PARK -
Tree regeneration of some
kind almost always develops
following a forest distur
bance in the temperate
eastern United States.
Almost always, that is.
Occasionally, ecological
balances are disrupted in
such a way that natural
regeneration failures
become a serious problem.
Such is the case in many
parts of Pennsylvania today.
This lack of natural
regeneration threatens the
very future of our Penn
sylvania forests. A survey of
65 timber cuttings made in
northwestern Pennnsylvania
between 1968 and 1971
revealed that satisfactory
natural regeneration was
developing in only 35 (54 per
cent) of them. The
remainder contained few
tree seedlings. Some areas
were developing into open
savannahs dominated by
ferns, grass, goldenrod, and
aster. Once established
these plants may produce
substances which inhibit
tree seedling establishment,
tending to perpetuate the
open treeless area.
Similar conditions exist in
areas of central Penn
sylvania where repeated
insect defoliations have
killed the overstory trees
over extensive areas. Few
seedlings are regenerating
on these areas, and her
baceous plants promise to
dominate there too.
Numerous experiments
conducted over the past
eight to 10 years have shown
that excessive browsing by
deer is the primary factor
responsible for these
regeneration failures.
Fences to exclude deer were
erected on about 40 cutover
sites on the Allegheny
National Forest in nor
thwestern Pennsylvania and
the Pocono area of nor
theastern Pennsylvania.
Regeneration was measured
blamed for lack
inside and outside of the
fences at all locations. Of
those failing to regenerate
outside the fence, 85 per cent
regenerated satisfactorily
when deer were excluded. So
at lsast 85 per cent of the
failures can be attributed
directly to deer browsing.
Actually, this is a con
servative estimate, because
these fences were erected
after cutting, while deer,
browsing occurs on un
derstory seedlings before
cutting as well. Other ex
periments have shown that
these advance seedlings are
very important in deter
mining regeneration suc
cess. If advance seedlings
are lacking, regeneration
may fail even when
protected against browsing.
So browsing that occurs
before cutting reduces the
potential for an area to
regenerate. To demonstrate
the full impact of deer
browsing, fencing would
have to be erected 10 to 15
years before cutting to allow
advance seedlings to develop
naturally.
Where regeneration fails
to develop naturally, it is
standard forestry practice to
plant seedlings or sow seeds
to establish a new forest.
Unforfortunately, deer
damage to artifically
established seedlings is even
more severe than to natural
seedlings. Planted seedlings
that have been fertilized in
the nursery are especially
nutritious, and deer walk
down the rows to eat each
and every one. We cannot
afford to plant or seed the
tens of thousands of
seedlings per acre that are
normally - expected in
natural regeneration.
Planting 6 feet apart results
in only about a thousand
seedlings per acre, and deer
can consume these few
seedlings in a very short
time.
Many techniques have
been tested to protect
seedlings from deer
browsing. Chemical
repellents of many kinds
have been sprayed on
seedlings to keep away, but
none have been found ef
fective in areas of high deer
population. Apparently
hungry deer will put up with
the unpleasant taste or odor
when there is little else for
them to eat.
The only protection that
has proven effective is a
fence of some type, either to
surround .an entire
regeneration area, or a« »
cage around individual
seedlings. An 8-foot-high
fence is required if a large
area is being fenced; costs of
such fencing run $250 per
acre or more. Attempts to
develop cheaper techniques
using plastic materials or
outrigger or electric-shock
designs have either not been
effective or have not reduced
costs appreciably.
Researchers have also
tested various cages of wire
or plastic mesh, to protect
individual seedlings. The
most effective is a plastic
tube five to six feet high, that
protects the seedling until it
grows out the top, by which
time it is above the reach of
deer. But these cages are
also expensive - about $2 per
seedling. If more than 100
are used per acre, fencing is
usually cheaper and gives
better results.
One technique foresters,
are using to minimize deer
damage is fertilization. In
areas where seedlings are
present but being browsed
Winpower can same
the day in the land of
milk and money
When power lines go down, so do your milking
machines, coolers and feed and watering
systems. The financial loss can be crippling.
*
Why risk it, you can own your own
electric company ... a Winpower tractor driven
alternator? It provides immediate power to keep
all of your electrical systems running smoothly.
You can even use it in remote field locations.
Your Winpower representative has a wide
variety of tractor and engine driven models to
choose from.
MARVIN HORST
1950 S. sth Ave.
Lebanon. PA 17042
717-272-0871
WAYNE OLVER
Damascus, PA 18415
717-224-4169
808 SWANSON
Kennett Square, PA 19348
Ask The
Powerhouse.
of forest development
severely by deer, an ap
plication of nitrogen fer
tilizer will stimulate rapid
height growth of three to
four feet per year, so that
seedlings grow out of the
reach of deer in a couple of
years rather than the five or
six years normally required.
Although no guarantee that
seedlings will escape' fer
tilization does reduce the
damage considerably, and
can be applied by helicopter
for less than $lOO per acre.
Where it can be used, it is a
better investment than
fencing.
But even $lOO per acre is a
formidable investment when
(Turn to Page 103)
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