Exclusion of large herbivores affects understorey shrub vegetation more than herb vegetation across 147 forest sites in three German regions

摘要

BackgroundMany studies have analysed the effect of browsing by large herbivores on tree species but far fewer studies have studied their effect on understorey shrubs and herbs. Moreover, while many studies have shown that forest features and management intensity strongly influence understorey vegetation, the influence of such variation on the effect of large-herbivore exclusion is not known.