Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

Land management practices often directly alter vegetation structure and composition, but the degree to which ecological processes such as herbivory interact with management to influence biodiversity is less well understood. We hypothesized that intensive forest management and large herbivores have compounding effects on early-seral plant communities and plantation establishment (i.e., tree survival and growth), and the degree of such effects is dependent on the intensity of management practices. We established 225 m2 wild ungulate (deer and elk) exclosures nested within a manipulated gradient of management intensity (no-spray Control, Light herbicide, Moderate herbicide and Intensive herbicide treatments), replicated at the scale of whole harvest units (10-19 ha). Herbivory and herbicide applications interacted to drive vegetation structure, composition and crop-tree establishment, with herbivory effects most evident at intermediate herbicide treatments. Control stands were too forage-rich and Intensive stands too forage-poor to be substantially affected by herbivory. However, with Moderate herbicide treatment – which approximates treatments applied to > 2.5 million hectares in Pacific Northwest U.S.A. – foraging by deer and elk exacerbated the effect of the herbicides, resulting in simplified, low-cover plant communities resembling the Intensive herbicide treatment. In the Light herbicide treatment, herbivory suppressed shrub growth following herbicide treatment, improving planted conifer seedling survival, likely via competitive release from shrubs. Minor reductions in management intensity from the Moderate to Light herbicide treatments therefore facilitated the capacity of wild ungulates to benefit seedling survival – which constitutes early evidence of an ecosystem service. However, this ‘service’ may be to the detriment of native early-seral plant communities. These results demonstrate that by changing community composition and vegetation structure, intensive forest management alters foraging selectivity and subsequent plant-herbivore interactions; such shifts in early-seral communities are likely to influence understory plant communities and tree growth in later stages of forest development.

These data represents the results of vegetation plots in west-slope Sierra Nevada forests. There is accompanying point count surveys for birds (see Central Sierra Hardwood Study - Birds) made at these survey plots. Please be aware that the coordinates of the points displayed in the text data display of this data set are California Teale-Albers NAD27 projection, but that the data point viewer displays these data points and the background layers in California Teale-Albers NAD83 projection. TIME PERIOD COVERED. These data were collected during 2002 and 2003 between June-August by field crews working for California Department of Fish and Game.GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT OF THE RECORDS. Vegetation plots extend from El Dorado to Tuolumne counties in the central Sierra Nevada between 2000-6000 ft elevation.NUMBER OF RECORDS. There are 64 stands with habitat attributes measured from 3-4 0.2-acre sampling plots per stand. BASE DATA STRUCTURE. The file is a flat table which gives vegetation attributes for each stand. Each stand is represented by two key fields called "Quad" and "Grid" which relate these habitat records to bird survey data collected in 2003 from the same sample stands. WHAT EACH RECORD REPRESENTS. Each record in the table represents the stands site attributes, habitat attributes, and California Wildlife Habitat (CWHR) classification type. Average values for each stand represent the grand mean of average values from the 3-4 plots measured at each sample stand or the average of single measurements of attributes from the 3-4 plots measured at each sample stand.

These data represents the results of vegetation plots in west-slope Sierra Nevada forests. There is accompanying point count surveys for birds (see Central Sierra Hardwood Study - Birds) made at these survey plots. Please be aware that the coordinates of the points displayed in the text data display of this data set are California Teale-Albers NAD27 projection, but that the data point viewer displays these data points and the background layers in California Teale-Albers NAD83 projection. TIME PERIOD COVERED. These data were collected during 2002 and 2003 between June-August by field crews working for California Department of Fish and Game.GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT OF THE RECORDS. Vegetation plots extend from El Dorado to Tuolumne counties in the central Sierra Nevada between 2000-6000 ft elevation.NUMBER OF RECORDS. There are 64 stands with habitat attributes measured from 3-4 0.2-acre sampling plots per stand. BASE DATA STRUCTURE. The file is a flat table which gives vegetation attributes for each stand. Each stand is represented by two key fields called "Quad" and "Grid" which relate these habitat records to bird survey data collected in 2003 from the same sample stands. WHAT EACH RECORD REPRESENTS. Each record in the table represents the stands site attributes, habitat attributes, and California Wildlife Habitat (CWHR) classification type. Average values for each stand represent the grand mean of average values from the 3-4 plots measured at each sample stand or the average of single measurements of attributes from the 3-4 plots measured at each sample stand.

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