Bark stripping by red deer in chestnut coppices: a case study in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

Abstract

Bark stripping by deer has a selective impact on trees and influences their stability and vitality.Bark stripping has been studied in many high forests while information about this impact in coppice forests is still scarce. In this work we assessed bark stripping incidence, severity and selectivity in chestnut coppices. Two study sites were considered, one in an area occupied by red deer and the other where there is roe deer but red deer is absent. In the area with red deer, bark stripping was present in 2 year old coppices and stripping frequency doubled in 5 year oldcoppices. Bark stripping was also very frequent in chestnut coppices 14 to 32 year old. We found no bark stripping in the area without red deer. Our results show that bark stripping by red deer has a selective character for coppice age and tree size