The recording, assessment, and evaluation of young growth that is browsed by ungulates are difficult; nevertheless, it ranks high in today's applied silviculture. The severe strain that is placed onto the forests, as well as onto the cultural landscape through recreational activities, results more and more in driving the deer (Capreolus capreolus and Cervus elaphus) and chamois (goat antelope native to the mountains of Europe and Asia) out of their traditional habitat. This leads to serious browsing intensities locally, so that natural forest regeneration, to some extent, is only possible under aggravated conditions.
In the first NFI the current browsing of the terminal shoot by ungulates was reported, which means that it was recorded whether the terminal shoot was browsed or not. As the analysis from the first result publication demonstrated, the browsing percentage (e.g., the proportion of browsed plants as compared to the total number of plants) was subject to strong seasonal fluctuations (EAFV 1988). Depending on the time of recording, these fluctuations led to varying results. The results, furthermore, deviated from the annual browsing according to EIBERLE (1980; 1985), which estimated how endangered the regeneration was.
Due to this fact, the methods for evaluating the browsing damage were fundamentally revised (STIERLIN et al. 1994). Because of the modified browsing evaluation, the seasonal effects were compensated. However, the data of both inventories were no longer directly comparable.
Based on case studies, both methods of evaluating the browsing damage were compared with each other.