Response of Ground-level Wildlife Food Plants to Canopy Defoliation by the Gypsy Moth
We studied changes in ground-level vegetation (shrubs, herbs, vines, trees) in a deciduous forest before (1984) and after (1987) the initial stages of a gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) invasion. Seventeen of 18 plant species known to be important wildlife food plants increased in percent cover from 1984 to 1987. Total percent ground cover and plant species richness also increased. At the same time, the number of snags and snag basal area increased but not significantly, implying that the gypsy moth can be used as a management tool to enhance understory vegetation without harvesting trees. By...
