Маслов М.B.
Амурский зоологический журнал 2021; 13(4): 520–527
This study considers the role of a herbaceous plant species, the thick-stemmed wood fern Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai, in the winter diet of sika deer inhabiting the Ussuriysky Nature Reserve and the adjacent territory. Our long-term field surveys (2004-2020) have reliably confirmed that overwintering green fronds of wood fern are one of the most preferred food items of sika deer in autumn and winter. In spring and summer, we rarely observed deer browsing on this plant. The consumption of fern reduces the impact of deer on tree and shrub regeneration.
