Moose browsing in young Scots pine stands in relation to forest management

The effects of moose browsing in young Scots pine stands were studied in southern Finland during 1993-94. The influence of moose on tree species composition starts during the early development of young plantations. A considerable proportion of small pine seedlings was damaged, and hence the future development of the stand was retarded. The average biomass consumption of pine was relatively low increasing slightly with the density of pine seedlings. Browsing of pine was common in the patches with high density of preferred and highly utilized deciduous tree species, aspen and rowan. As elucidated by means of exclosure studies, the availability of tree species preferred and highly utilized by moose, e.g. rowan, is likely to be reduced also by early silvicultural cleaning. Removing excess birches by cleaning appears to be needed even in high-density moose areas to regulate the competition between tree species, especially the birch/pine height ratio. At the present average moose density of 0.4-0.6 km(-2) forest rand, considerable depletion of highly palatable tree species occurs locally in high-density moose ranges. When optimizing the development of young stands, silvicultural treatment timing and browsing by moose should be taken into account. It is considered important when combining forest and wildlife management to identify the conditions under which damage, overconsumption and possible long-term effects on forest ecosystems take place.