Husheer et al. (2003): Long-term influences of introduced deer on the composition and structure of New Zealand Nothofagus forests.

Husheer, S.W.; Coomes, D.A.; Robertson, A.W. 2003. Long-term influences of introduced deer on the composition and structure of New Zealand Nothofagus forests. Forest Ecology and Management 181: 99-117.

This study uses data from ninety-two 20 m x 20 m permanent plots and three pairs of exclosure plots monitored for two decades in Kaimanawa Forest Park. Mountain beech forest composition has shifted towards browse-resistant shrub species, while intense deer browsing may have led to the development of turf-forming communities. In red and silver beech forests there was an increase in the stem densities of small trees that are unpalatable to deer. This is the first time in New Zealand that observed deer impacts in the understorey have been clearly related to changes in overstorey composition on a landscape scale.