To study the effects of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and elk (Cervus elaphus) on buckbrush (Ceanothus fendleri), Huffman and Moore built exclosures around plots in 3 ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest restoration management units, and compared vegetative and flowering characteristics with unprotected plots for 2 years. On unprotected plots, 69% of the current-year branches were browsed during the first year and 44% were browsed the second year. Stem number, length and diameter, number of current-year branches, and current-year biomass on protected plots were all greater than on unprotected plots in the second year. Flowering stems were found on significantly more protected plots than unprotected plots in the second year. Effects of ungulate herbivores on buckbrush size, stem recruitment, morphology, and flowering represent important constraints to early understory development and restoration in this Southwest ponderosa pine forest.
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