EFFECTS OF OVERABUNDANT MOOSE ON THE NEWFOUNDLAND LANDSCAPE

The long-term effects of introduced and overabundant herbivores on community development must be monitored and managed in an ecosystem-based forest management approach. This paper builds on previously published ecological descriptions and hypotheses offered on the effects of moose overabundance in Newfoundland. The island, in the absence of wolves, provides a setting for study of local irruptions in moose populations, which now affect an increasing area of the forest. Moose effects occur most often after natural disturbances and logging, involving unique forest succession patterns. We describe some of these changes, along with anticipated and realised changes in associated forest biodiversity. We offer suggestions to improve or refine monitoring of moose populations, especially at local scales, to detect cases of overabundance. Finally, we offer recommendations for the management of overabundant moose populations