Re-framing deer herbivory as a natural disturbance regime with ecological and socioeconomic outcomes in the eastern United States
Re-framing deer herbivory as a natural disturbance regime with ecological and socioeconomic outcomes in the eastern United States
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DOI：
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161669
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发表时间：
2023-01-20
影响因子：
9.8
通讯作者：
Faison，Edward K.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hanberry，Brice B.;Faison，Edward K.
自然干扰是重要的生态系统过程，具有生态和社会经济效益和缺点。大型食草动物是自然干扰，数百万年来已经消除了植物生物量，尽管食草动物的影响在过去数千年中可能已经下降，与大多数动物物种的灭绝和分布和丰度下降相对应。尽管如此，传统观点，特别是在北美东部，认为大型野生食草动物的食草行为达到了前所未有的水平，导致对森林的非自然破坏。在这里，我们建议将大型食草动物视为一种自然干扰，同时也赋予许多重要的生态优势，并使用白尾鹿（Odocoileus virginianus）作为我们的焦点物种，白尾鹿是美国东部仅存的野生大型食草动物。我们研究了浏览树木和草本植物的有害影响的证据。然后我们认为，鹿通过控制树木和灌木的密度，模仿火的消耗作用，有助于减少燃料消耗和草本植物以及稀树草原和林地历史开放森林的生态恢复。与其他干扰类似，不同生态系统和景观中鹿干扰“制度”的严重程度不均匀，导致异质性和多样性。除了支持生物多样性和减少燃料消耗外，社会经济效益还包括每年为 1000 万猎人提供超过 200 亿美元的收入，以支持就业和野生动物机构、8000 万人以非消费性方式享受大自然、文化重要性以及鹿作为生态大使，而成本则包括每年约 50 亿美元和多达 450 人因机动车事故、农作物受损和疾病传播而死亡。从历史生态学而不是当前基线的角度来看，鹿带来了一种具有许多生态效益和一系列社会经济影响的根本干扰过程。
Natural disturbances are critical ecosystem processes, with both ecological and socioeconomic benefits and disadvantages. Large herbivores are natural disturbances that have removed plant biomass for millions of years, although herbivore influence likely has declined during the past thousands of years corresponding with extinctions and declines in distributions and abundances of most animal species. Nonetheless, the conventional view, particularly in eastern North America, is that herbivory by large wild herbivores is at unprecedented levels, resulting in unnatural damage to forests. Here, we propose consideration of large herbivores as a natural disturbance that also imparts many crucial ecological advantages, using white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the only wild large herbivore remaining throughout the eastern U.S., as our focal species. We examined evidence of detrimental effects of browsing on trees and forbs. We then considered that deer contribute to both fuel reduction and ecological restoration of herbaceous plants and historical open forests of savannas and woodlands by controlling tree and shrub densities, mimicking the consumer role of fire. Similarly to other disturbances, deer disturbance ‘regimes’ are uneven in severity across different ecosystems and landscapes, resulting in heterogeneity and diversity. In addition to biodiversity support and fuel reduction, socioeconomic benefits include >$20 billion dollars per year by 10 million hunters that support jobs and wildlife agencies, non-consumptive enjoyment of nature by 80 million people, cultural importance, and deer as ecological ambassadors, whereas costs include about $5 billion and up to 450 human deaths per year for motor vehicle accidents, along with crop damage and disease transmission. From a perspective of historical ecology rather than current baselines, deer impart a fundamental disturbance process with many ecological benefits and a range of socioeconomic effects.