We used a factorial experiment to test whether the influence of deer browse on seedling performance was greater in canopy gaps, relative to undisturbed forest. The experiment was conduced in two catchments (the Hopkins and the Huxley), one of which (the Hopkins) was subjected to deer culling for the duration of the experiment. We tagged seedlings of mountain beech (Fuscospora cliffortioides) and measured their height growth and survival over 6 years and analysed these data in relation to our three treatments (canopy gaps, fences and catchment scale deer control).
Data were used in the following publication:
Peter J. Bellingham, Sarah J. Richardson, Norman W.H. Mason, Clare J. Veltman, Robert B. Allen, Will J. Allen, Richard J. Barker, David M. Forsyth, Simon J. Nicol, David S.L. Ramsey, Introduced deer at low densities do not inhibit the regeneration of a dominant tree, Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 364, 15 March 2016, Pages 70-76, ISSN 0378-1127. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.12.013)
These resources (data files) represent snapshots of data extracted from the National Vegetation Databank (NVS) for analysis supporting this manuscript. NVS is a living database, and data are subject to error correction and other amendments over time. The most current version of these data can be requested via the NVS website by searching for the datasets “OHAU CANOPY GAPS AND EXCLOSURES 2006-2007” and "OHAU CANOPY GAPS AND EXCLOSURES 2013”.