Moose forage in the North
KEY POINTS- Forage availability influences time budgets and movements of moose
- Spatiotemporal variation in forage availability determines patterns of browsing and damage
- Combining data on forage availability and deer abundance (including moose) may yield predictions of risk of browsing damage
Project overview
Participants
More related research
Short summary
Browsing pressure is the result of plant-animal interactions as well as landuse in production landscapes. In Moose forage in the North, we study how moose compete for forage at the landscape scale, and how forestry practices can influence browsing pressure and damage.
Co-management of ungulates and forests requires knowledge of how forage availability, ungulate densities and silviculture influence browsing damage. Understanding plant-animal interactions is central to this. Several studies show the importance of managing forage actively while regulating the entire ungulate community, but many measures to prevent damage remain insufficiently evaluated. In northern Sweden, management is complicated by moose migration between summer and winter ranges. In Moose forage in the North, we investigate how moose use the landscape and how forestry practices can influence browsing pressure and damage.
We combine historical data with new surveys of ungulate densities, forage availability, forage use and forest damage, mainly in Västerbotten. GPS-collared moose provide information on movements and habitat use throughout the day and year. Pellet counts, camera traps and repeated surveys of the same young stands show how different areas are used and how damage accumulates. Together with Moose quality in the North, we analyse diets from faecal samples and link diet and movement to individual body condition.
The project also plans experiments with separating logging residues and cutting saplings at waist height to increase forage availability, alongside comparisons of regeneration methods and the effects of repellents. By comparing treated areas with control areas, we will investigate how these measures affect moose movements, forage use and damage at the landscape scale. The results will show under which conditions measures to increase forage and choices of regeneration method can reduce damage.
The results will provide forestry and wildlife management with information on how moose are distributed across the landscape and evidence for adapting measures to local forage conditions and seasonal moose migration.
The project is conducted in close dialogue with the County Administrative Board and representatives of both large-scale forestry and family forestry.
Publications
Widemo, F., Leonardsson, K., Ó Cuív, C., Anderson, J. & C. Berndt. 2025. Utvärdering av målen inom den svenska älgförvaltningen. Rapport Skog 2025: 2. SLU. https://doi.org/10.54612/a.4co3ohmkvd