deer damage

Deer browse coppice shoots and tree seedlings, and gnaw bark, especially when herbaceous feed is scarce. The males also rub their antlers against trees to remove ‘velvet’ or mark territory, leaving the damaged bark with a frayed margin. The browse line is about 1.5m for red deer and fallow deer, 1.1m for roe deer and muntjac.

This definition is abridged from A – Z of tree terms: A companion to British arboriculture.
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