This site is owned by a manor consisting of mainly forests with smaller areas of open meadows, bogs and grasslands on recent forest clearings. The study site is situated in a larger forest with modern forestry activities. Wild Boars have recently been introduced in an enclosure where Red and Fallow deer also are present. The vegetation is quite nutrient poor and acidic with Sphagnum mosses in the wetter parts. The trees that dominate the area are different planted conifer species and especially Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), the deciduous trees that occurs are Beech (Fagus sylvatica), Birch (Betula pubescens and pendula) and Alder (Alnus glutinosa) close to the river. The fern Pteridium aquilinum is quite dominant at the site at the cost of short, open vegetation, it has been hypothesised that boars can keep this plant in check by foraging underground for its thick rhizome.
Before the Boars were introduced vegetation surveys was performed at 24 plots around the area. The plots were randomly spread amongst 3 different category strata covering open areas, wet forest and dry forest. These categories were based on remote sensing information. The plots are paired where an experimental exclosure was put up around one of the survey plots and the pairing is situated just outside the exclosure whereby similar vegetation develops in time with and without Boar disturbances. This makes it possible to describe the effects these animals have on the vegetation. The site will be revisited every couple of years.
Total species list from our plots.
