Abstract
Bark stripping is a key topic in forestry because of economic losses due to associated fungal infections of wood, finally resulting in growth decrease and the loss of ecosystem services. Numerous studies identified factors influencing the spatial distribution of bark stripping damage between stands or at the landscape scale. However, patterns within single stands are not yet reported. In this research, we performed a terrestrial laser scanning supported census of nine stands in Austria (9026 trees in total). A generalised additive model with a binomial distribution (link = logit) and soap film smoother was fitted to the data. The probability of bark stripping on the single tree level depended on the following covariates: Spruce was more vulnerable than larch, damage probability decreased with DBH and the local slope and increased with the Epanechnikov Kernel (bandwidth = 15 m) estimate of tree density. At the nearest neighbour distance of two metres, there was a damage maximum. The spatial distribution of bark stripping damage was clumped, and its intensity decreased with increasing distance to forest roads. In 67.7% of the cases, the model predicted the right outcome for the total population (overall model accuracy). This percentage varied between 55.3 and 79.1% between stands. In conclusion, the spatial distribution should be considered in inventory designs for bark stripping damages to mitigate bark stripping effects on the forests.
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The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We are thankful to the forest company Wasserberg/Stift Heiligenkreuz, and in particular to P. Cœlestin Klemens Nebel OCist. for the opportunity to make the measurements for our study on their sites and for their support. We thank Ralf Krassnitzer, Franz Gollob and Philipp Waltl for the careful fieldwork.
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Conceptualization: CH, SV, CG, TR; Methodology: CH, SV; Formal analysis: CH, SV; Data curation: CH, CG; Writing—original draft: CH, SV Writing—review and editing: CH, SV, CG, TR.
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Hahn, C., Vospernik, S., Gollob, C. et al. Bark stripping damage by red deer (Cervus elaphus L.): assessing the spatial distribution on the stand level using generalised additive models. Eur J Forest Res 142, 611–626 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-023-01545-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-023-01545-0