The Use of Alternative Foods to Reduce Lodgepole Pine Seed Predation by Small Mammals

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Abstract
(1) Lodgepole pine seed predation by deer mice and related small mammals has been studied at three interior areas of British Columbia, Canada. (2) When the distribution and abundance of rodent seed predators was taken into account, the amount of seed damage was directly related to the relative density of animals. Deer mice and voles destroyed the majority (>85%) of pine seed within 3 weeks of application when the abundance of these rodents was ≥ 5 animals/ha. In areas with prolonged low densities (<3 animals/ha), lodgepole pine showed very good survival (60-70% after 3 weeks). (3) The use of sunflower seeds as an alternative food successfully reduced pine seed predation. A ratio of two sunflower seeds to one pine seed produced a range of 50-82% survival of pine seed after 3 weeks and 42-72% after 6 weeks compared with 12-15% and 8-10% survival of pine without sunflower. (4) This technique could be used for direct seeding cutover forest lands in areas suitable for growth of lodgepole pine in North America.