REGIONAL ASSESSMENT OF BROWSE AND ITS IMPACTS ON FOREST VEGETATION
OVERVIEW
Browsing by ungulates is a significant pressure on the resilience of forests in the Northeast with potential implications for the composition and structure as well as interactions with other stressors such as a changing climate. Various efforts are underway to document and track the effects of browse and understand how browse pressure impacts forest regeneration and composition. Building on FEMC’s work on the Northeast Forest Regeneration Data Network and extensive collaborative network, FEMC will develop a framework for integrating existing data sources and filling in gaps.
Project Goals:
The exact outputs of this project may be altered or updated as we gain more information through the research process, however, current goals are to:
- Engage a network of experts in a series of workshops and listening sessions across the region to identify key data sets and analyses to perform as part of the assessment.
- Inventory current information about browse impact assessment.
- Make any existing information easily accessible and interpretable.
- Identify any important spatial gaps in assessment and collect impact data to fill those gaps.
- Field test various browse assessment methods and collect preliminary impact data.
- Recommend 1 to several browse assessment protocols that are standardized and replicable.
GET INVOLVED!
This is a collaborative project that is dependent on the input and expertise of those who work regularly with deer browse and browse impact assessment. We have been conducting key informant interviews to gather knowledge about the state of deer browse in the Northeast and we will likely host working sessions throughout the process. If you would like to contribute, be interviewed, or have a data source you think we should be aware of…please let us know!
Contact any of the Project Personnel or at our general FEMC e-mail