Using a data synthesis approach to generate novel results for ecosystem recovery in deer-affected forests

Overgrazing by white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) has been an ongoing problem in Rondeau Provincial Park since the turn of the century. Since the recent reintroduction of annual culls by park officials, deer densities have declined but the extent to which this control has been effective in restoring plant communities remains to be seen. Such research may only be conducted by synthesizing long-term data sets, dating back to the establishment of artificial exclosures in the park and commencement of culls, and producing novel information. It was determined that T. grandiflorum populations within the park are still in the process of recovery, even following eighteen years of experimental exclosures. Thus, recovery from recently reduced deer populations is still underway and occurring at a slow rate. It is also believed that high deer herbivory aids in the spread of invasive species, however this was not found to be the case in Rondeau. Spread of invasive A. petiolata is diminishing in intensity and was found to have little effect on species richness in affected areas. These results illustrate the utility of data synthesis principles and practices in long-term ecological studies and stress the importance of process metadata and digital data repositories in furthering such a field.