Deer management

Wild deer can influence climate change not only through their own greenhouse gas emissions, but also through their effects on the ecosystems in which they occur. High deer densities can reduce woodland regeneration through browsing and contribute to degradation of peatland and other habitats through grazing and trampling.

Deer management could deliver climate benefits through multiple pathways: directly by reducing emissions associated with deer populations, and indirectly by increasing carbon sequestration through successful woodland regeneration and improved ecosystem health.

This project will investigate these pathways using a Scottish deer-management landscape as a case study.

The project will use existing deer population, density and land-cover data for a Scottish Deer Management Group or similar landscape. Four scenarios will be compared: current deer management, deer management to an ecologically appropriate density, woodland creation without additional deer control, and woodland creation combined with deer management.

Direct deer greenhouse gas emissions and potential carbon benefits from woodland establishment will be estimated, with sensitivity analysis used to explore uncertainty.