Senn, J. (2022). Large herbivores. In T. Wohlgemuth, A. Jentsch, & R. Seidl (Eds.), Landscape series: Vol. 32. Disturbance ecology (pp. 295-312). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98756-5_13
Large herbivores can influence the population dynamics of their forage plants. Feeding means a disturbance for the affected plants. Although in most cases herbivores consume only a relatively small fraction of the total phytomass, they influence the intra- and interspecific competition between plants. Whether and to what extent herbivores influence the forest–open land distribution has been subject of controversial discussion. Today, species diversity and population density of large herbivores in the temperate zone are lower than they were at the end of the last Ice Age. Therefore, stronger and more diverse influences of these species on the vegetation can be assumed before widespread human activity. This fact must be considered in the modern management of natural landscapes .