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

野马在澳大利亚的保护区造成了严重的生态破坏，但缺乏检测马匹影响的实验研究。我们的方法是评估盖伊·福克斯河国家公园野马的生态影响，盖伊·福克斯河国家公园是新南威尔士州北部的一片重要荒野。我们将描述马匹数量和环境影响之间的关系，通过实验确定马匹被排除在外如何影响关键环境变量，并测试受威胁植物对野马觅食和践踏的敏感性。一项关键成果将是制定经过科学验证的方案，用于评估马匹的影响，以及管理澳大利亚东部其他地区的野马。

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.