Bark Recovery of Enkianthus campanulatus Stripped by Sika Deer, Growing in Colony in Uminokuchi Shizengo, Yatsugatake Kogen

Abstract

Trees of Enkianthus campanulatus (Ericaceae) are growing in colony in Uminokuchi shizengo, Yatsugatake kogen, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. In recent years, terrible bark stripping damage of the trunks by sika deer (Cervus nippon Temminck) happens frequently. However, many of them were repaired. In this study, the number of E. campanulatus stripped by sika deer was counted in a quadrat of 30 m square at 1550 m above the sea level. In the quadrat, we found 57 bundles with 184 trunks of which 83 trunks were stripped but 80 had been repaired. Dead trees due to bark stripping damage by sika deer were only three. Microscopic observation of repaired bark showed that the traumatic tissues in xylem appeared in the inner part of repaired bark, and no growth ring boundary was observed between cambial cells and the traumatic tissues. Additionally, living cells appeared on the surface of stripped trunk. From the results, it was assumed that the trunk of E. campanulatus can be easily repaired in a short period.