Until now, the bark stripping rate gave an indication of deer pressure on young softwood stands. This Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech study now quantifies the extent of the financial loss over the entire production cycle, from planting to clear-cutting.
Bark stripping damage is particularly damaging to spruce plantations, Wallonia’s leading production species. Although the occurrence of bark stripping damage has been quantified using inventories, the extent of the financial loss has not been precisely quantified until now. According to the study, the cost of the damage would be around €46/ha/year if the annual bark stripping rate is 4%, a rate that has until now been considered acceptable. The study also highlights the financial benefits of protecting future trees individually with a Gerstner planer, especially in the most productive spruce stands, or if planing can be carried out well before the first thinning.