The main aims of our study were to determine the density and species composition and the overall and species-specific browsing rates of regeneration, and to determine the optimal sample size of census plots for estimating the overall browsing rate in regeneration, in order to make its estimation reliable to be used in forest and wildlife management planning. The study area was the Peca-Mežica hunting area, which covers 4485 ha and is located in the Mežica valley in the Koroška region. The area is dominated by the European beech forests. In the hunting ground and the entire region roe deer prevail, followed in abundance by chamois and red deer. The inventory methodology was adopted from the Slovenian Forest Service and partly modified: the browsing of lateral shoots was registered in addition to the browsing of the terminal bud. The highest total density of regeneration was recorded in the height class up to 15 cm. Spruce dominated the species composition, followed by sycamore maple and European beech, while other species were significantly less abundant. The overall browsing rate (O) was 52.3%, while the total current browsing rate (TLO) was 26.6%. Silver fir, as a generally popular species for browsing, was found to be heavily browsed in the study area (O 93.5%, TLO 68.4%). In our case, we believe that the total current browsing rate better indicates the contemporary impact of herbivores on forest regeneration. A sampling error of 20% was defined as still appropriate in the conditions present in the research area, and analyses suggested that the sample of 23 census plots would be sufficient to achieve this error.
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