Vegetation response to slash walls that exclude deer from hardwood forest regeneration harvests.

Slash walls were developed at the Cornell University Arnot Teaching and Research Forest in 2017. Slash walls have proven effective to exclude deer. Annual measurements of permanent sample points have documented changes in vegetation inside versus outside of slash walls. This presentation will review 4 to 6 years of vegetative response, inside younger and older slash walls, to assess their association with the regeneration stocking, hardwood seedling diversity, seedling height growth, and other metrics of response.  The design and construction of slash walls will be reviewed.

Presented by Peter Smallidge at the noon session on February 22, 2024. Coauthors include: Brett Chedzoy, Paul Curtis, and David Weinstein.