Massachusetts Project
Regeneration of Forest Vegetation in Response to Browsing by Moose and Deer: An Experimental Approach Using Exclosures
August 2007 - December 2027
Personnel
Participating Agencies
- Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
- Cooperative Research Unit Program
In cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Harvard Forest, and several other groups, we have built 16 sets of experimental exclosures to monitor the response of forest vegetation in relation to browsing by moose and deer. Each site has two 20x20 m fenced treatments (full exclosure with fencing to the ground, and a partial exclosure with fencing two feet off the ground to allow access to deer but not moose) and an unfenced control. We have documented varying responses of woody vegetation based on treatment in the first few years of the experiment. Our goal is to see that this experiment continues for at least the next few decades.
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Faison, E. K., D. R. Foster, and S. DeStefano. 2016. Long-term deer exclusion has complex effects on a suburban forest understory. Rhodora 118:382-402. | July 2016 |
| Technical Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| DeStefano, S., E. Faison, J. Compton, and D. Wattles. 2010. Forest exclosures: an experimental approach to understanding browsing by moose and deer. Massachusetts Wildlife 60:14-23. | April 2010 |
| Theses and Dissertations | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Faison, E. F. 2015. Complex effects of ungulate browsers on tree recruitment and herbaceous layers in northeastern temperature forests. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. | May 2015 |