Grazing in Temperate Ecosystems

The New Forest in Southern England is an area of mixed vegetation set aside as a Royal Hunting Forest in the 11th-century. Since that time it has been subjected to heavy grazing from large herbivores, including cattle, ponies and deer. This grazing has been the dominant influence on the entire ecological functioning of the forest system. This text combines a general review of our knowledge of the ecology of the Forest itself with original research which shows the effects of continued heavy grazing on a temperate ecosystem. Thus the book should appeal to the more general reader with an interest in natural history, conservation and the environment, as well as the academic or professional worker interested in ecology and wildlife management. In the latter context, the author's findings are examined in the light of other work on the effects of grazing in the dynamics of other ecosystems, and the New Forest is presented as a case study within this more general theme.