Bark stripping of young Pinus sylvestris by Alces alces on the individual, stand, and landscape level in Sweden

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Forest Research
• Main Authors: Faber, William E., Thorson, Erik M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1996
• Subjects: Ecology; Forestry; Global and Planetary Change; Alces alces
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x26-239; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/x26-239

Physical characteristics of Scots pine (Pinussylvestris L.) trees bark stripped by moose (Alcesalces L.) and frequencies of bark stripping were quantified at the Grimsö Wildlife Research Area in south-central Sweden during July 1995. Twenty-one young Scots pine stands evenly distributed over two areas of differing forest productivity were included in the study. Each stand was systematically plot-surveyed to determine the frequency of affected Scots pine trees. Additionally, we quantified data (i.e., 13 variables) on 420 recently (i.e., spring 1995) bark-stripped pine trees located through visual walking surveys of each stand. Less than 3% of the trees within the susceptible height range (1.5–4.0 m) were bark stripped annually, and 99% of these trees were between 1.5 and 4 m in height and wounds were concentrated within the 3- and 4-year-old internodes. There was a weak positive relationship between frequency of bark stripping and forest productivity at the stand and landscape levels, whereas weak negative relationships were found between bark-stripping frequency and stand size and bark-stripping frequency and pine stem density. Overall, the results suggest bark stripping has a minor impact on the trees. Forestry practices to reduce bark-stripping damage are discussed.