Damage Caused By Deer to woodlands in the UK

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Deer cause very serious damage to both established trees and newly planted saplings. When they browse the buds, they reduce growth rates; nipping the tree at the base can create multiple stemmed trees; and bucks rubbing their antlers on the stems can kill the tree entirely, the process is known as thrashing in some species of UK Deer. Another common complaint by from clients with large gardens or smallholdings at the edges of woodlands is the damage to flower beds with Roe and Muntjac particular fond of flowering plants in the summer.

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 In areas where large populations of deer or herding deer (like Fallow deer) management strategies should be put in place as a longer-term plan to protect woodlands and other wildlife that would benefit from the protection that is lost when the understory is taken away. The level of damage to woodland can be assessed for the amount diminished understory, the understory is the saplings and plants under the canopy of trees that are at the browse line of the particular deer species. The experienced team can tell which species of deer predominantly we are dealing with by the level of the browse line. In addition to shrub, sapling and young tree damage there can be an adverse reaction to the  vertebrate and invertebrate woodland fauna.

The popularity for deer fencing particular areas of woodland against deer is increasingly prevalent in the south-east of England but it does have its negatives too. Larger deer can often clear the areas affected by deer and the high costs and logistics of erecting fencing may make this an unfeasible option. In addition, particularly when we are dealing with smaller parcels of woodland, there is also the aesthetic aspect of fencing which can often detract from the natural landscape.