The past century witnessed a dramatic increase in deer abundance in North America, Western Europe, and Japan, that triggered profound changes in the vegetation structure of temperate forests. Considering the effects large herbivores can have on soil properties and organisms, it is likely that such increased deer abundance will have consequences belowground. Current studies in temperate forests, however, found inconsistent results regarding the effect of deer on soils within, and across, ecosystems. These inconsistencies may be the result of a time-dependent response of the soil to deer presence. Short-term belowground modifications may reflect the direct interactions of deer on soil (i.e. trampling and waste deposition), while long-term belowground modifications may reflect both direct and indirect effects of deer on soil (e.g. through vegetation shifts). To test these ideas, we measured the effects of deer on soil properties and prokaryotic communities in the temperate forests of Haida Gwaii, Canada. We compared three complementary systems varying in duration of deer presence or exclusion, so as to be able to assess the short- (before and after a deer cull), intermediate- (inside vs. outside deer exclosures) and long- (comparing islands with and without deer) term effects of deer, respectively. We found no change in soil physical and chemical properties and in prokaryotic community structure after one year of deer removal. Twenty years of deer exclusion significantly reduced soil compaction but had no effect on soil prokaryotic community structure. Over 70 years of deer presence significantly correlated with: increased soil compaction, reduced total soil phosphorus content and soil prokaryotic diversity, and modified soil prokaryotic community structure and composition. Such effects of deer on the soil may have consequences for nutrient cycling. Revealing the belowground effects of deer in temperate forests, therefore, requires long-term studies, longer than most of those currently available in the literature.

上个世纪见证了北美，西欧和日本鹿的丰度急剧增加，从而引发了温带森林植被结构的深刻变化。考虑到大型草食动物可能对土壤特性和生物产生影响，这种增加的鹿群数量可能会在地下产生后果。但是，目前在温带森林中进行的研究发现，关于鹿对生态系统内部和整个生态系统土壤的影响，研究结果不一致。这些不一致可能是土壤对鹿的存在的时间依赖性响应的结果。短期地下改造可能反映了鹿在土壤上的直接相互作用（即践踏和废物沉积），而长期地下改造可能反映了鹿对土壤的直接和间接影响（例如 通过植被转移）。为了检验这些想法，我们测量了鹿对加拿大海达瓜伊温带森林中土壤特性和原核生物群落的影响。我们比较了在鹿存在或被排除的持续时间方面有所不同的三个互补系统，以便能够评估短距离（在剔除鹿之前和之后），中距离（内部与外部鹿的暴露）和长距离（与之相比的岛屿）。且没有鹿）分别对鹿的长期影响。去除鹿一年后，我们发现土壤理化性质和原核生物群落结构没有变化。排除鹿的二十年显着降低了土壤致密性，但对土壤原核生物群落结构没有影响。超过70年的鹿存亡与以下因素密切相关：土壤压实度增加，减少土壤总磷含量和土壤原核生物多样性，并改良土壤原核生物群落结构和组成。鹿对土壤的这种影响可能会导致养分循环。因此，要揭示鹿在温带森林中的地下作用，需要进行长期研究，其时间要长于目前文献中大多数研究的时间。