Adaptation of a protocol for the monitoring of deer impacts on rainforest undergrowth in New Caledonia. BIOEKO deliverable for ANCB as part of the PROTEGE project

Abstract

The standard methodological framework developed as part of the PROTEGE project has been adapted to the particularly challenging context of New Caledonia's rainforests, to develop protocols for monitoring the impact of Rusa Deer on the understory. The methodology was designed to be sufficiently robust, simple, inexpensive, easily replicable, partly demonstrative and not dependent on expert botanical skills. It must be usable across the various Priority Zones of the PROTEGE project, and allow temporal comparisons for each zone. The indicators selected for the deer impact monitoring protocols are intended to be used to measure the effectiveness of actions and their benefits in terms of deer population regulation levels.