Does white-tailed deer density affect tree stocking in forests of the Eastern United States?

Ecological Processes

Table 3 Major tree genera or species, their deer browse preference in the northeastern US (Rawinski 2014) and central (Latham et al. 2005) and southern (Warren and Hurst 1981) US during the growing and non-growing season, and their change in percent of all trees in forests from historical (1620–1900) to present (2011–2017) in the eastern US. Changes in dominance reflect overall trend across the entire eastern US and may vary within forest regions and provinces

Tree group	Scientific name	North	Central spr/sum	Central fall/wint	South spr/sum	South fall/wint	Change
Balsam fir	Abies balsamea	Non-preferred	Unknown	Unknown	N/A	N/A	Increase
Red maple	Acer rubrum	Preferred	Low/moderate	High	Moderate/high	Low/moderate	Increase
Sugar maple	Acer saccharum	Preferred	Low/moderate	Moderate	N/A	N/A	Increase
Birch	Betula	Non-preferred	Low/moderate	Moderate/high	N/A	N/A	Neutral
Hickory	Carya	N/A	Low	Low	Low/moderate	Low	Neutral
Beech	Fagus sylvatica	Non-preferred	Low	High	Moderate/high	Low/moderate	Decrease
Ash	Fraxinus	Preferred	Low/moderate	High	Moderate/high	Low/moderate	Increase
Eastern redcedar	Juniperus virginiana	Preferred	Moderate	Moderate	Low/moderate	Moderate/high	Increase
Sweetgum	Liquidambar styraciflua	N/A	Low	Low	Low/moderate	Low	Increase
Yellow-poplar	Liriodendron tulipifera	N/A	High	High	Moderate/high	Moderate	Increase
Blackgum	Nyssa sylvatica	Preferred	High	High	High	Moderate	Increase
Spruce	Picea	Non-preferred	None	Low	N/A	N/A	Increase
White pine	Pinus strobus	Non-preferred	Low	Moderate	N/A	N/A	Decrease
Pine	Pinus	Non-preferred	Unknown	Unknown	Low	Low	Decrease
Aspen	Populus	Preferred	Low	Low	Moderate/high	Low/moderate	Increase
Black cherry	Prunus serotina	Preferred	Low	Low	High	Moderate/high	Increase
Oak	Quercus	Preferred	Moderate	High	Low	Low	Decrease
Northern white cedar	Thuja occidentalis	Preferred	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Increase
Eastern hemlock	Tsuga canadensis	Preferred	Low	High	N/A	N/A	Decrease