The loss of species diversity and plant community structure throughout the temperate deciduous forests of North America have often been attributed to overbrowsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginanus). Slow species recovery following removal from browsing, or reduction in deer density, has been termed a legacy effect of past deer herbivory. However, vegetation legacy effects have also coincided with changes to soil chemistry throughout the north-eastern USA. In this paper, we assess the viability of soil chemistry (i.e. pH, extractable nutrients and extractable metals) and other factors (topography, light, overstory basal area and location) as alternative explanations for a lack of vegetation recovery. We compared the relative effects of soil chemistry, site conditions and short-term (1-2 year) deer exclusion on single-species occupancy probabilities of 10 plant taxa common to oak-hickory forests in central Pennsylvania. We found detection for all modelled species was constant and high ( p ^ > 0.65), and occupancy probability of most taxa was best explained by at least one soil chemistry parameter. Specifically, ericaceous competing vegetation was more likely to occupy acidic (pH < 3.5), base cation-poor (K < 0.20 cmolc kg-1) sites, while deer-preferred plants were less likely to occur when soil manganese exceeded 0.1 cmolc kg-1. Short-term deer exclusion did not explain occupancy of any plant taxon, and site conditions were of nominal importance. This study demonstrates the importance of soil chemistry in shaping plant community composition in the north-central Appalachians, and suggests soil as an alternative, or additional, explanation for deer vegetation legacy effects. We suggest that the reliance on phyto-indicators of deer browsing effects may overestimate the effects of browsing if those species are also limited by unfavourable soil conditions. Future research should consider study designs that address the complexity of deer forest interactions, especially in areas with complex site-vegetation histories.

中文翻译：

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土壤化学而不是短期（1-2年）的鹿排除，解释了受酸沉降影响的森林中林下植物的占用。

北美温带落叶林中物种多样性和植物群落结构的丧失通常归因于白尾鹿（Odocoileus virginanus）的过度繁殖。从浏览中移除后物种恢复缓慢，或鹿密度降低，被称为过去鹿食草的遗留效应。但是，植被遗留效应也与美国东北部土壤化学变化同时发生。在本文中，我们评估了土壤化学的生存能力（即pH值，可提取的养分和可提取的金属）和其他因素（地形，光线，基础层的面积和位置过高）作为缺乏植被恢复的替代解释。我们比较了土壤化学的相对影响，宾夕法尼亚州橡树山地森林常见的10种植物类群的单种物种占用概率排除了现场条件和短期（1-2年）鹿的可能性。我们发现所有建模物种的检测都是恒定且较高的（p ^> 0.65），并且至少一个土壤化学参数可以最好地解释大多数分类单元的占用概率。具体来说，在土壤中锰含量超过0.1cmolc-kg的条件下，酸性竞争植物更可能占据酸性（pH <3.5），碱性差的阳离子（K <0.20 cmolc kg-1）的位置，而鹿类植物则不太可能出现。 1。短期排除鹿群并不能解释任何植物分类单元的占用情况，而且场地条件具有重要意义。这项研究表明了土壤化学在中北部阿巴拉契亚山脉塑造植物群落组成中的重要性，并建议用土壤作为对鹿植被遗留影响的替代或补充解释。我们建议，如果那些物种也受到不利的土壤条件的限制，那么依赖于鹿浏览效果的植物指标可能会高估浏览的效果。未来的研究应考虑能够解决鹿林相互作用的复杂性的研究设计，尤其是在具有复杂的现场植被历史的地区。