Nitrogen absorption in forested ecosystem is not always recovered by exclusion of feeding pressure of Japanese sika deer.

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24658136
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Forest science
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: YOSHIOKA Takahito 京都大学, フィールド科学教育研究センター, 教授 (50202396)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MATSUYAMA Shuhei 大阪市立大学, 研究員 (30570048) ; TOKUCHI Naoko 京都大学, フィールド科学教育研究センター, 教授 (60237071) ; FUKUSHIMA Keitaro 首都大学東京, 特任助教 (60549426)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: シカ食害 / 植生 / 窒素栄養塩 / 多様性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It was suggested that the feeding pressure by Sika deer affected nitrogenous nutrient concentrations and their seasonal changes in soil. Plant species with different nitrogen utilization capacity showed complex dynamics of inorganic nitrogen in soil. Diversity in the vegetation may not directly affect the soil nitrogen dynamics. However, if the dietary preference of the deer would determine the species composition and biomass, the feeding pressure by Sika deer might indirectly affect the nitrogen dynamics in the soil. Prevailing the unpalatable vegetation, the feeding pressure by Sika deer may suppress the leakage of nitrogenous nutrients from the soil.

Free Research Field

生物地球化学