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Science 11 February 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5711, pp. 920 - 922
DOI: 10.1126/science.1107036
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Reports

Deer Browsing and Population Viability of a Forest Understory Plant

James B. McGraw* and Mary Ann Furedi

American ginseng is the premier medicinal plant harvested from the wild in the United States. In this study, seven populations of ginseng plants were censused every 3 weeks during the growing season over 5 years to monitor deer browse and harvest and to project population growth and viability. The minimum viable population size was ~800 plants, a value greater than that of all populations currently being monitored. When simulated deer browsing rates were reduced 50% or more, population viability rose sharply. Without more effective deer population control, ginseng and many other valuable understory herbs are likely to become extinct in the coming century.

Department of Biology, Post Office Box 6057, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506–6057, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jmcgraw{at}wvu.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Effects of self-pollination and outcrossing with cultivated plants in small natural populations of American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius (Araliaceae).
E. H. Mooney and J. B. McGraw (2007)
Am. J. Botany 94, 1677-1687
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Elevated temperatures increase leaf senescence and root secondary metabolite concentrations in the understory herb Panax quinquefolius (Araliaceae).
G. M. Jochum, K. W. Mudge, and R. B. Thomas (2007)
Am. J. Botany 94, 819-826
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Herbivory: effects on plant abundance, distribution and population growth.
J. L Maron and E. Crone (2006)
Proc R Soc B 273, 2575-2584
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)