Clarification of determinant factors for the impact of deer on vegetation in Japan

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26450221
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Forest science
• Research Institution: Yamanashi Forest Research Institute
• Principal Investigator: Iijima Hayato 山梨県森林総合研究所, その他部局等, 研究員 (30526702)
• Research Collaborator: ASADA MASAHIKO 合同会社AMAC, 代表社員
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ニホンジカ / シカ密度 / 階層モデル / 植生指標 / 剥皮 / 最大積雪深

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We estimated the densities of sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Hokkaido, Chiba, Yamanashi, Aichi, and Kyoto Prefectures by 5 km mesh unit. The increase of deer density increased the probability of debarking of standing trees and decreased the coverage of understory vegetation. The probability of debarking also increased with the increase of small size of trees and deep snow depth and the coverage of understory vegetation decreased with the increase of slope and the decrease of now depth. Therefore, the probability of debarking and the coverage of understory vegetation are suggested to be appropriate indices for evaluating deer impact on vegetation but the effects of other factors like snow depth and slope should be considered to evaluate the meaning of these vegetation indices.

Free Research Field

野生動物管理学, 個体群生態学, 森林生態学