The Responses of Heather-Dominated Vegetation in North-East Scotland to Grazing by Red Deer
- 28 February 1981
- journal article
- research article
- Published by JSTOR in Journal of Ecology
- Vol. 69 (1) , 189-204
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2259825
Abstract
The response of hill vegetation to controlled grazing by red deer was studied during the course of a project investigating the farming of red deer. Three paddocks, each 8 ha in extent, were chosen for the study. Vegetation surveys to map and describe the plant communities were carried out in 1972 and 1976. Point-quadrats were recorded at the same positions in 1976 and 1979. Heather-dominated, bracken-dominated and wet flush vegetation types were present. Detailed stocking records were kept for all paddocks on the farm. Stocking levels under normal conditions ranged from 1.0-2.5 hind-equivalents (HE)/ha. Higher levels occurred on 1 paddock during periods of hay feeding in winter. Heather-utilization surveys were made in a pilot survey on 1 paddock in 1974 and on all paddocks in 1975 and 1976. Utilization levels ranged from 25 over 60% of the current season''s shoot production. Very similar values were calculated from deer stocking rate, live-weight and intake data, together with estimates of annual herbage production. Floristic changes were confined to heather-dominated vegetation. Old heather was less able to withstand grazing than was young heather, and heather cover was reduced on areas where the stocking rate was consistently above 2 HE ha-1. The relationships among stocking rate, utilization levels and responses of vegetation to red deer grazing are examined, and the role of deer in relation to resource utilization is discussed.This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- A comparison of the voluntary intake and digestion of a range of forages at different times of the year by the sheep and the red deer (Cervus elaphus)British Journal of Nutrition, 1978
- The efficiency of utilization of dietary energy for growth in sheep (Ovis ovis) and red deer (Cervus elaphus)Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology, 1978
- Selection of Upland Swards by Red Deer (Cervus elaphus L.) on RhumJournal of Applied Ecology, 1977