Protecting western redcedar from deer browsing-with a passing reference to TRP channels

Area of Science:

• Forestry and Ecology
• Sustainable Agriculture

Background:

• Wildlife browsing significantly impacts western redcedar (WRC) seedling survival in tree farming.
• Traditional protection methods include mechanical devices and big-game repellents, which have limitations.
• Repellents often utilize transient receptor potential (TRP) agonists like capsaicin.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of co-planting western redcedar (Thuja plicata) with Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) as a sustainable method for protecting WRC seedlings from wildlife browsing.
• To propose an experimental approach to test this co-planting strategy.

Main Methods:

• The proposed experiment involves planting western redcedar seedlings in the same hole as Sitka spruce.
• This method aims to leverage natural deterrents or physical barriers provided by the companion species.
• The study will compare seedling survival rates against wildlife browsing with and without this co-planting technique.

Main Results:

• The editorial proposes an experimental design to evaluate the efficacy of co-planting.
• It hypothesizes that Sitka spruce may offer protection to western redcedar seedlings against herbivores.

Conclusions:

• Co-planting western redcedar with Sitka spruce presents a promising, sustainable alternative to conventional methods for managing wildlife browsing in forestry.
• Further experimental research is needed to validate the effectiveness of this ecological approach.