Growing numbers of wild ungulates are increasingly seen by concerned authorities in Europe as posing serious management problems, which include increasing browsing pressure by moose ( Alces alces ) and roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) in Swedish forests. Recent investigations by the Swedish Forest Agency identify high browsing pressure as the main reason for a recent decline in regeneration of Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ), one of the two main commercial species in Swedish forestry. The high browsing pressure is also having a negative impact on biodiversity. Thus, voices within the forest community claim that browsing pressure has never been so high. This paper examines that claim from a historical perspective by comparing livestock grazing in forest pastures a century ago with contemporary game browsing, and identifying the main factors driving both the livestock exodus from Swedish forests during the first half of the twentieth century and the rapid increase in deer populations during the second half. Finally, testing the claim that browsing impact has never been so high, past grazing and present browsing are theoretically sized up and compared. Estimates of live weights and numbers of large herbivores in 1902 and 2012 are used. The result indicates that the claim might possibly be lacking in historical context.

中文翻译：

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自 1900 年以来瑞典林业、森林牧场放牧和游戏浏览压力

越来越多的野生有蹄类动物越来越多地被欧洲有关当局视为构成严重的管理问题，其中包括瑞典森林中驼鹿 (Alces alces) 和狍 (Capreolus capreolus) 的浏览压力越来越大。瑞典森林局最近的调查确定，高浏览压力是最近苏格兰松树（Pinus sylvestris）再生率下降的主要原因，这是瑞典林业的两个主要商业树种之一。高浏览压力也对生物多样性产生负面影响。因此，森林社区内的声音声称浏览压力从未如此高。本文通过将一个世纪前森林牧场的牲畜放牧与当代的游戏浏览进行比较，从历史的角度审视了这一主张，并确定了推动 20 世纪上半叶牲畜从瑞典森林外逃和下半叶鹿种群迅速增加的主要因素。最后，测试浏览影响从未如此高的说法，过去的放牧和现在的浏览在理论上被放大和比较。使用了 1902 年和 2012 年的活重和大型食草动物数量的估计值。结果表明，在历史背景下可能缺乏该声明。使用了 1902 年和 2012 年的活重和大型食草动物数量的估计值。结果表明，在历史背景下可能缺乏该声明。使用了 1902 年和 2012 年的活重和大型食草动物数量的估计值。结果表明，在历史背景下可能缺乏该声明。