What do pervasive ungulate browse impacts mean for forestry in New England and New York

Ungulates, invasive plants, climate variability, and other stressors are acting together to compound the challenges facing forest managers tasked with regenerating forests following stand-initiation disturbances, e.g., harvest or catastrophic mortality. The range expansion of large ungulates, primarily white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and their browse impacts across the Midwest and Northeast have affected many aspects of the forest ecosystem (McWilliams and others 2018). This makes it nearly impossible to regenerate species that require advance regeneration and interferes with forest development in early stages of succession.