The Challenge in Growing Natural Forests

An eight-foot high fence splits this forest neatly in half. But what’s the other difference between the forest on the left and the forest on the right? The answer is deer browse. An explosion in deer numbers and their voracious browsing habitats devastate the natural regeneration of forests. Deer now represent the main threat to the long-term viability of Irish native woodlands according to foresters and ecologists. The Government recently held a public consultation on this very issue. These nimble and often reclusive mammals nibble their way through huge quantities of young saplings- mature trees are generally unimpacted but it’s the next generation of young trees (as well as ground flora) that are decimated. It’s worth noting that Sitka and Norway spruce which dominate Irish plantation forestry are unaffected by deer browsing. But no one wants a landscape dominated by non-native conifers so a solution is needed.