Spines in plants have evolved to reduce mammalian herbivory, and their main function may be to protect twigs more than photosynthetic tissue. Type and frequency of spines vary in different scales. We hypothesised that ...

Herbivory can be reduced by the production of defense compounds (secondary metabolites), but generally defenses are costly, and growth is prioritized over defense. While defense compounds may deter herbivory, nutrients may ...

Abstract Carbon-based secondary metabolites (CBSMs) are assumed to function as defences that contribute to herbivore-avoidance strategies of woody plants. Severe browsing has been reported to reduce concentrations of CBSMs ...

Moose browsing pressure in the vicinity of supplementary winter feeding stations eventually declines over time. It is believed that continual winter browsing over multiple years causes locally reduced shoot growth and ...

The growing elephant populations in many parts of southern Africa raise concerns of a detrimental loss of trees, resulting in overall reduction of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Elephant distribution and density ...

High densities of ungulates can increase human-wildlife conflicts. Where forestry is an important economy, intensive browsing can lead to browsing damage, resulting in volume losses, poor stand regeneration, and reduced ...

The boreal forest is one of the largest terrestrial biomes on Earth. Conifers normally dominate the tree layer across the biome, but other aspects of ecosystem structure and dynamics vary geographically. The cause of the ...