Response of Deer to Secondary Forest Succession in Southeast Alaska

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Abstract
Uneven-aged, silviculturally overmature stands of western hemlock-Sitka spruce (Tsuga heterophylla–Picea sitchensis) forest in southeast Alaska were used more heavily by Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) than adjacent or nearby comparison areas that had been clearcut, regardless of their postlogging age. Mean ratios of use, overmature forest:young growth, were 5.3:1 in summer and 7.0:1 in winter. Overmature stands had a more diverse and abundant understory than did second-growth stands ranging in age from 30 to 147 years. Similar results from Vancouver Island, B.C., are reviewed. Elsewhere, little attention has been given to the quality of climax coniferous forest as deer habitat relative to that of serai forest. It is concluded that even-age management of coniferous forest in the areas studied, and perhaps more generally, will resuit in a significant decrease in carrying capacity for deer. Forest Sci. 26:448–462.

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