In regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change, tree species shifts from less
drought-resistant to more drought-resistant species can affect the biodiversity of forest
ecosystems. How these species shifts are moderated and influenced by game populations
and their browsing activities is the main research question of the contribution from Katona
et al. (2013). The authors analysed data of understory species composition and browsing
impact from five different even-aged forest ecosystems in Hungary. They found that nonnative, drought-resistantRobinia pseudoacacia, which is currently extending in Hungarian
forests in the course of climate change, is highly preferred by browsing ungulates. In
contrast, native species which are susceptible to climate change induced drought effects,
such as Fagus sylvaticaor various Quercusspecies, are selectively avoided. Hence,
ungulate browsing might mitigate climate change induced effects on tree species composition and herbivore feeding preferences should play a vital role when climate change
adaptation strategies are planned for the conservation of forest biodiversity.