Influence of overstory, ground, and deer disturbance on early ground-layer plant community dynamics in managed northern hardwood forests

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2026

Abstract

Silvicultural regimes vary in severity of canopy disturbance and may include site preparation and ground disturbance. Furthermore, deer herbivory can influence ground-layer responses to disturbance. Despite the ground-layer’s importance for biodiversity and ecosystem function, few studies have evaluated how these disturbances interact to affect ground-layer diversity, particularly across contrasting silvicultural regimes. We examined the short-term effects of four regeneration methods, scarification and deer exclusion, on the response of different diversity facets to (1) gradients in canopy and ground disturbance severity, (2) associated effects on ground-layer cover, and (3) the influence of deer on these responses. Species richness and Shannon index were related primarily to ground disturbance; growth form richness was related primarily to canopy disturbance. Increases in disturbance severity decreased community heterogeneity and floristic quality. Deer exclusion was not associated with composition or heterogeneity, but reduced the importance of ground-layer cover, suggesting that higher resource availability may help sensitive species better tolerate herbivory. Results highlight how increases in diversity with disturbance severity coincided with declines in floristic quality and heterogeneity of the ground-layer community. These trade-offs should be weighed against management objectives and could be mitigated by balancing disturbance frequency and severity, and distributing retention patches throughout the harvested area.

Publication Title

Canadian Journal of Forest Research

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