The damage caused by red deer, i.e., the stripping of bark from trees in younger spruce stands, represents a large problem. Additional feeding of the red deer should, in theory, reduce the possibility of still greater damage in forests and on agricultural land. At the same time it should help them to survive during the winter season. The aim of the current study was to determine whether the percentage of damaged trees has been reduced as a function of distance from the red deerćs feeding places. Seventy one transectswere used to systematically gather data from six of the red deerćs feeding areas. An analysis of 64 transects, with 2772 trees, revealed that 865of them were damaged and 1907 were undamaged. The majority of the damage was old damage. The average size of the damaged patches was 5.21 cm wide and 36.68 cm high. The results showed a reduction in the damage to trees with an increasing distance from the feeding places; however, this finding was not statistically significant. The percentage of damaged trees was reduced with anincreasing truck diameter and altitude. The damage was increased with an increasing ground incline and a denser tree canopy. The bark of the trees was found to be smoother and more suitable for bark peeling in areas with a densertree canopy. Previous research has found that there is a reduction in damage when the stands of spruce are thinned during the earlier phases of development. Thinning allows for a reduction in the time it take trees to develop from a smooth to a rough bark, and, consequently, a shortened period when the trees are sensitive to damage. In addition, thinning leads to an increase in the amount of light reaching the forest floor, thereby increasing the amount of herbs and shrubs available for red deer to feed on.
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