Strath Caulaidh - Informed Ecological Decisions :: Case Study 1 - Estimating deer abundance

getStory119:full:Array: Strath Caulaidh - Informed Ecological Decisions :: Case Study 1 - Estimating deer abundance

Case Study 1 - Estimating deer abundance

THE CLIENT:
The Forestry Commission (FC) owns the UK's public forest estate. Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) manages the the Scottish portion of the estate on FC's behalf.
Almost all FC properties in Scotland harbour significant populations of wild deer, known to be capable of causing significant impacts by browsing young timber crops and sensitive conservation sites.

THE CHALLENGE:
To manage populations of wild deer, FES firstly needs to know how many are present. However, quantifying deer abundance in woodlands is notoriously difficult. In 1998, FES asked Strath Caulaidh to help them obtain more accurate information on the size of the deer population on the Cowal Peninsula.
THE SOLUTION:

Strath Caulaidh was already aware in 1998 that estimation of deer abundance in woodlands was a problem area for forest managers. We had already adopted a first principles approach to the problem and had recently completed a critical examination of available international research and had trialled the main methods in field conditions.
The findings enabled us to develop a new range of high-precision tools capable of obtaining improved information. SCL used these tools to inventory all FC forests on the Cowal Peninsula. The survey enabled managers to gain a considerably better insight into the size of the population present and, hence, revise cull targets.
THE FOLLOW UP:
After 1998, FES commissioned SCL survey to a number of forests in South Scotland each year using the techniques. By 2002, FES had also awarded SCL a contract to survey forests in North Scotland. After the two FES management areas were merged, SCL won a contract to monitor FES woodlands at the national level. This contract continues.
The majority of the FC estate in Scotland has now been surveyed using these techniques and experienced professional managers generally agree that they provide more meaningful estimates of abundance than the older methods. Furthermore, the data sets arising from the study have catalysed further developments and several new research publications are now at various stages of preparation.
We continue to use the count techniques we have developed to actively monitor deer population size in FC forests in the whole of Scotland. The techniques have also been used to undertake large collaborative surveys in Galloway and Speyside, whereby all landowners within specific deer ranges agree to have their land surveyed in tandem. We are also working with the Irish equivalent of FC, Coillte Teo, quantifying deer populations and deer impacts.
Related ongoing work includes being commissioned by FES to quantify browsing impacts on crops and help to set deer culls. Also, we have recently been at the forefront of a project to develop methods to quantify the impact of deer on sensitive montane habitats. This work will lead to the development of models to predict the level of deer impact levels in these areas based on the density measured. This work is being carried out with FC, SNH and a number of private landowners in areas such as the Cairngorms, Glen Affric and Ben Wyvis.

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