Deer Activity and Habitat Impact Surveys

We’ve been out over the last week carrying out deer activity and habitat impact assessments on estates in Hampshire. The spring is the ideal time to get them done, however sometimes this is not possible and it is better to gather the data at some point than not at all. This allows us to trend against previous years and to ensure the deer management plan is updated along with any other recomendations. The hot weather and lack of rainfall has certainly taken it’s toll on the flora. The photos below are ones which we include in the surveys and analyse to determine what impact the deer are having and what the activity level is. We are able to identify which deer species is having the most impact and which are having negligible impact. We can identify if other mammal species are having a negative on the trees.

The red and white survey pole is graduated at 0.5m intervals to record the depth of cover and height of browse lines.