Identifying and managing the ecological impacts of free-ranging wild horses

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Wild horses cause significant ecological damage in conservation areas in Australia, but experimental research examining horse impacts is lacking. Our approach is to assess ecological impacts of wild horses in Guy Fawkes River National Park, a significant wilderness in northern NSW. We will describe the relationship between horse abundance and environmental impacts, experimentally determine how horse exclusion affects key environmental variables, and test the sensitivity of threatened plants to wild horse browsing and trampling. A key outcome will be development of scientifically-validated protocols for assessing horse impacts, and for managing wild horses in other areas of eastern Australia.