Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of deer on the post-fire recovery of a Mediterranean plant community in Central Portugal

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

We studied the effect of dense populations of red and fallow deer on a burned Mediterranean plant community in Portugal. We sampled a set of 12 open and 12 fenced plots 2, 3, 4, and 8 years after fire occurrence. Each plot was sub-sampled using a quadrat grid to estimate the relative plant frequency (proportion of quadrats with plants). The effect of deer on temporal trends of overall plant frequency and diversity, and on the abundance of the four most common woody species, was modeled using Generalized Linear Mixed Models. The effect of deer on plant assemblage composition was assessed by use of Redundancy Analysis. In open plots the relative plant frequency increased along the study period from 0.59 to 0.85, whereas in fenced plots there was a significantly faster recovery from 0.35 to 0.96. Cistus salvifolius and Rubus ulmifolius were significantly favored by fencing but a similar effect was not observed for Erica scoparia and Ulex jussiaei. The Redundancy Analysis showed a divergent floristic composition of the two sets of plots. The effect of deer was significant for the Evenness index but not for the Shannon and the Richness indices. Our results show that a high deer density may significantly delay the post-fire recovery of a Mediterranean community of woody plants and cause shifts in the direction of plant succession.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alverson WS, Waller DM, Solheim SL (1988) Forests too deer: edge effects in northern Wisconsin. Conserv Biol 2:348–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Augustine DJ, McNaughton SJ (1998) Ungulate effects on the functional species composition of plant communities: herbivore selectivity and plant tolerance. J Wildl Manage 62:1165–1183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barančeková M, Krojerová-Prokešová J, Homolka M (2007) Impact of deer browsing on natural and artificial regeneration in floodplain forest. Folia Zool 56:354–364

    Google Scholar 

  • Bates D (2010) lme4: Mixed-Effects Modelling with R

  • Bates D, Maechler M, Bolker B (2012) lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using S4 classes. R package version 0.999999-0

  • Blondel J (2006) The ‘design’of Mediterranean landscapes: a millennial story of humans and ecological systems during the historic period. Hum Ecol 34:713–729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond WJ, Keeley JE (2005) Fire as a global ‘herbivore’: the ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems. Trends Ecol Evol 20:387–394

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bond WJ, Midgley JJ (2003) The evolutionary ecology of sprouting in woody plants. Int J Plant Sci 164:S103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulanger V, Baltzinger C, Saïd S, Ballon P, Picard J-F, Dupouey J-L (2009) Ranking temperate woody species along a gradient of browsing by deer. For Ecol Manage 258:1397–1406. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2009.06.055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw RHW, Hannon GE, Lister AM (2003) A long-term perspective on ungulate–vegetation interactions. For Ecol Manage 181:267–280. doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(03)00138-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bugalho MN, Milne JA (2003) The composition of the diet of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in a Mediterranean environment: a case of summer nutritional constraint? For Ecol Manage 181:23–29. doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(03)00125-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calvo L, Santalla S, Valbuena L, Marcos E, Tárrega R, Luis-Calabuig E (2008) Post-fire natural regeneration of a Pinus pinaster forest in NW Spain. Plant Ecol 197:81–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catry F, Rego F, Moreira F, Fernandes P, Pausas J (2010) Post-fire tree mortality in mixed forests of central Portugal. For Ecol Manage 260:1184–1192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Côté SD, Rooney TP, Tremblay JP, Dussault C, Waller DM (2004) Ecological impacts of deer overabundance. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 35:113–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeByle NV (1985) Animal impacts. Aspen: ecology and management in the western United States Fort Collins, CO: USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station General Technical Report RM-119 p 115:123

  • Duncan K, Holdaway R (1989) Footprint pressures and locomotion of moas and ungulates and their effects on the New Zealand indigenous biota through trampling. N Z J Ecol 12:97–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Espelta JM, Habrouk A, Retana J (2006) Response to natural and simulated browsing of two Mediterranean oaks with contrasting leaf habit after a wildfire. Ann For Sci 63:441–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Olalla M, Rodríguez Vigal C, San Miguel Ayanz A, Muñoz Igualada J, Martínez Jáuregui M (2006) Selección de especies y efecto del ciervo (Cervus elaphus L.) sobre arbustedos y matorrales de los Montes de Toledo, España central. Invest Agrar: Sist Recur For 15:329–338

  • Ferreira VCC (2006) Dieta da população de veado (Cervus elaphus L.), após o fogo na Tapada Nacional de Mafra. B.Sc, Technical University of Lisbon, Lisbon

  • Focardi S, Tinelli A (2005) Herbivory in a Mediterranean forest: browsing impact and plant compensation. Acta Oecol 28:239–247. doi:10.1016/j.actao.2005.05.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill R, Beardall V (2001) The impact of deer on woodlands: the effects of browsing and seed dispersal on vegetation structure and composition. Forestry 74:209–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs NT (1996) Modification of ecosystems by ungulates. J Wildl Manage 60:695–713

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs NT, Schimel DS, Owensby CE, Ojima DS (1991) Fire and grazing in the tallgrass prairie: contingent effects on nitrogen budgets. Ecology 72:1374–1382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosey G (1981) Annual foods of the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the south of England. J Zool 194:276–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard WE (1964) Introduced browsing mammals and habitat stability in New Zealand. J Wildl Manage 28:421–429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson J (1980) The annual diet of the Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the New Forest, Hampshire, as determined by rumen content analysis. J Zool 192:71–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johansson M, Rooke T, Fetene M, Granström A (2010) Browser selectivity alters post-fire competition between Erica arborea and E. trimera in the sub-alpine heathlands of Ethiopia. Plant Ecol 207:149–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer K, Groen TA, van Wieren SE (2003) The interacting effects of ungulates and fire on forest dynamics: an analysis using the model FORSPACE. For Ecol Manage 181:205–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kutiel P (1997) Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of species diversity in a Mediterranean ecosystem following fire. Int J Wildland Fire 7:307–315. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF9970307

    Google Scholar 

  • Laterra P, Vignolio OR, Linares M, Giaquinta A, Maceira N (2003) Cumulative effects of fire on a tussock pampa grassland. J Veg Sci 14:43–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Gallagher ED (2001) Ecologically meaningful transformations for ordination of species data. Oecologia 129:271–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovari S, Cuccus P, Murgia A, Murgia C, Soi F, Plantamura G (2007) Space use, habitat selection and browsing effects of red deer in Sardinia. Ital J Zool 74:179–189. doi:10.1080/11250000701249777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magurran AE (2004) Measuring biological diversity. Blackwell Science Ltd, Malden

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez T (2009) Role of various woody species in Spanish Mediterranean forest and scrubland as food resources for spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica Schinz) and Red Deer (Cervus elaphus L.). In: Rigueiro-Rodriguez A, McAdam J, Mosquera-Losada MR (eds) Agroforestry in Europe: current status and future prospects. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 233–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Mateus ASA (2006) Dieta da População de Gamo (Dama dama L.) Após o Fogo na Tapada Nacional de Mafra. B.Sc, Technical University of Lisbon, Lisbon

  • Moe SR, Wegge P (1997) The effects of cutting and burning on grass quality and axis deer (Axis axis) use of grassland in lowland Nepal. J Trop Ecol 13:279–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naveh Z (1975) The evolutionary significance of fire in the Mediterranean region. Plant Ecol 29:199–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen J, Blanchet FG, Kindt R, Legendre P, Minchin PR, O’Hara RB, Simpson GL, Solymos P, Henry M, Stevens H, Wagner H (2012) vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package version 2.0-4

  • Paula S, Ojeda F (2011) Response to recurrent disturbance in two co-occurring resprouter heath species: the ecological consequences of withstanding herbivores. Plant Ecol 212:2035–2045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pausas J, Keeley J (2009) A burning story: the role of fire in the history of life. Bioscience 59:593–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pausas JG, Vallejo VR (1999) The role of fire in European Mediterranean Ecosystems. In: Chuvieco E (ed) Remote sensing of large wildfires in the European Mediterranean basin. Springer, Berlin, pp 3–16

  • Pellerin S, Huot J, Coˆté SD (2006) Long-term effects of deer browsing and trampling on the vegetation of peatlands. Biol Conserv 128: 316–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Raffaele E, Veblen TT, Blackhall M, Tercero-Bucardo N (2011) Synergistic influences of introduced herbivores and fire on vegetation change in northern Patagonia, Argentina. J Veg Sci 22:59–71. doi:10.1111/j.1654-1103.2010.01233.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rakotoarison H, Point P, Malfait JJ (2009) A dynamic model for estimating the economic costs of roe deer browsing in the Gascogne forests. In: Colloque SFER “Chasse, Territoires et Développement durable Outils d’analyse, enjeux et perspectives “, ENITAC Clermont-Ferrand France

  • Rogers DA, Rooney TP, Olson D, Waller DM (2008) Shifts in southern Wisconsin forest canopy and understory richness, composition, and heterogeneity. Ecology 89:2482–2492

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Royo AA, Collins R, Adams MB, Kirschbaum C, Carson WP (2010) Pervasive interactions between ungulate browsers and disturbance regimes promote temperate forest herbaceous diversity. Ecology 91:93–105

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Russell FL, Zippin DB, Fowler NL (2001) Effects of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on plants, plant populations and communities: a review. Am Midl Nat 146:1–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • San-Miguel J, Camia A (2009) Forest fires at a glance: facts, figures and trends in the EU. In: Birot Y (ed) Living with wildfires: what science can tell us, vol 15. EFI Discussion paper 15. European Forest Institute, Joensuu, pp 11–18

  • Santos J, Corte-real J, Leite S (2007) Atmospheric large-scale dynamics during the 2004/2005 winter drought in portugal. Int J Climatol 27:571–586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seifan M, Kadmon R (2006) Indirect effects of cattle grazing on shrub spatial pattern in a mediterranean scrub community. Basic Appl Ecol 7:496–506. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2005.10.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vallejo VR, Arianoutsou M, Moreira F (2012) Fire ecology and post-fire restoration approaches in Southern European Forest Types. In: Moreira F, Arianoutsou M, Corona P, Heras JDl (eds) Post-fire management and restoration of Southern European Forests. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 93–119

  • Vega JA, Fernández C, Pérez-Gorostiaga P, Fonturbel T (2009) Response of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) recruitment to fire severity and post-fire management in a coastal burned area in Galicia (NW Spain). Plant Ecol 206:297–308. doi:10.1007/s11258-009-9643-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisberg PJ, Bugmann H (2003) Forest dynamics and ungulate herbivory: from leaf to landscape. For Ecol Manage 181:1–12. doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(03)00123-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Tapada Nacional de Mafra, for allowing this study and for logistic support during field work. We also acknowledge several people who supported field work during the study period, especially Carla Santos and Miguel Cardoso. We are deeply grateful to Jennifer Burdon and Tania Stadler for the English revision of the manuscript. This study was funded by FCT, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (project POCI/AGR/61407/2004; grants SFRH/BD/65991/2009 and SFRH/BPD/90668/2012).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEABN, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal

    Joaquim S. Silva, Filipe X. Catry, Francisco Moreira, Tito Lopes & Miguel N. Bugalho

  2. Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra,, Escola Superior Agrária, 3040-316, Coimbra, Portugal

    Joaquim S. Silva & Tiago Forte

Authors
  1. Joaquim S. Silva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Filipe X. Catry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Francisco Moreira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tito Lopes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tiago Forte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Miguel N. Bugalho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joaquim S. Silva.

About this article

Cite this article

Silva, J.S., Catry, F.X., Moreira, F. et al. Effects of deer on the post-fire recovery of a Mediterranean plant community in Central Portugal. J For Res 19, 276–284 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-013-0415-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-013-0415-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation