Electronic Supplementary Material Appendix 1
Habitats definition. Characterization of the habitat types used in this study.
Habitat
type
Definition
Dominant
species
Heather
moorland
(15132
km2)
A semi-natural
habitat dominated by
a range of heathland
dwarf shrubs.
Abundant and
widespread habitat
throughout red deer
range in Scotland.
Large tracts of
heather moorland are
designated as Sites of
Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI), and
the UK holds 75% of
the world's
remaining heather
moorland
Common
heather
(Calluna
vulgaris), bell
heathers (Erica
spp.), blaeberry
(Vaccinium
myrtillus).
Peatland
(6214
km2)
A range of
vegetation found on
blanket peat in the
hills and uplands and
raised bogs of the
lowlands. Blanket
bog and bog heather
moor are the
principal plant
communities.
Increasingly
protected by both
national and
international
conservation
designations, such as
SSSI and Special
Area of Conservation
(SAC).
A range of plant
communities
characterise this unit,
from wind-clipped
heather moorland at
the low levels to true
alpine communities
on exposed summits.
The montane zone in
Scotland lies above
the potential tree-line
(700-800m, but
descending to 200m
in the north).
Areas characterised
Common
heather
(Calluna
vulgaris),
cotton-grasses
(Eriphorum
spp), deer-grass
(Trichophorum
cespitosum),
flying bent
(Molinia
caerulea)
Montane
(2576
km2)
Smooth
Sward aerial biomass (g
DM/m2) ± s.e. (averaged
across months)
Calluna moor eastern
Grampians, Scotland, May
to November (Grant et al.
1987)
Tall heather = 891± 48
Short heather = 756 ± 16
Shelter and food
availabilit
Blanket bog, Argyll,
Scotland, April to October
(Grant et al. 1987)
Total biomass = 462 ± 56
Current shoot (heaths) and
green shoots (grasses and
sedges) = 122 ± 15
Generally more exposed
landscape (Mean TOPEX
score = 24, s.e. = 0.01)
than heather moorland,
Calluna stands offer less
thermal protection here as
sward height is shorter and
Calluna plants are more
interspersed. Plants less
preferred than in heather
moorland although young
shoots of Eriophorum
vaginatum and Molinia
are utilised (Mitchell et al.
1977).
Extremely
variable
depending on
levels of
exposure.
Characterised
by low-alpine
prostate
Calluna
vulgaris
heathland
(Britton and
Fisher 2007)
Fescues
Relatively exposed
(*Mean TOPEX score =
43, s.e. = 0.01) but
unmanaged heather can
provide good wind shelter
(mature heather sward
height up to 70 cm).
Dwarf shrubs provide
browsing winter food
(Staines 1976; Mitchell et
al. 1977; Staines and Crisp
1978; Staines et al. 1982).
Patches of grass are
heavily used in these
habitats (Hester and
Baillie 1998; Hester et al.
1999).
Very exposed (Mean
TOPEX score = 37, s.e. =
0.03). More likely to be
utilised in summer than in
winter. High browsing and
grazing impact in areas
south of the Scottish
Highlands (Thompson and
Brown 1992; Britton and
Fisher 2007)
Upland Agrostis-Festuca
Preferred plants, high
grass
(1423
km2)
Rough
grass
(927 km2)
by unimproved
natural grassland,
most frequently in a
hill or upland
situation, with a high
proportion of
palatable grasses.
Vegetation of this
type is the best
pasture of many of
the hill areas and is
often heavily grazed.
Often present on
mineral soils in
valley floors.
Grasslands that have
not undergone
agricultural
improvement by way
of the application of
fertilizers, pesticides,
drainage or
reseeding.
(Festuca spp),
bents (Agrostis
spp), sweet
vernal
(Anthoxanthum
odoratum)
sward in Fife, Scotland,
May to October (Grant et
al. 1985)
Flying bent
(Molinia
caerulea) predominant on
peaty soils and
hill peat of the
wetter western
areas of
Scotland, white
bent (Nardus
stricta) - more
evident on the
'drier' soils in
the east
Upland Molinia sward in
Roxburghshire, Scotland,
June to October (Grant et
al. 1985)
Total biomass = 368 ± 87
Live biomass = 184 ± 43
utilization in late spring
and summer (Mitchell et
al. 1977; Osborne 1984).
Exposure depending on
topography, in general
poor thermal and wind
protection. (Mean TOPEX
score = 48, s.e. = 0.04)
Exposure depending on
topography, in general
poor thermal and wind
protection. Plants
utilization see Peatland.
Total biomass = 238 ± 29
Live biomass = 155 ± 33
Upland Nardus sward in
Fife, Scotland, May to
November (Grant et al.
1985)
Total biomass = 1412 ±
247*
Live biomass = 375 ± 72*
(*) biomass of tussocks
and between-tussock has
been pooled.
Improved
grass
(1406
km2)
Woodland
(1135
km2)
Grassland containing
species of grass and
clover of high
grazing value that are
generally
established by
reseeding and
maintained by
grazing control and
use of lime and
fertilizers. Scarce
throughout red deer
range.
Areas of coniferous
trees, broad-leaved
trees or woods of
mixed species.
Atlantic oak
woodlands of the
west coast are of
international
importance due to
the diversity of
bryophytes, lichens
and ferns. Native
Perennial rye
grass (Lolium
perenne),
clover
(Trifolium spp.)
Sessile oak
(Quercus
petraea),
downy birch
(Betula
pubescens),
Scots pine
(Pinus
sylvestris)
Good thermal and wind
shelter (Staines 1976;
Mitchell et al. 1977).
Utilisation of saplings
higher in winter than in
summer (Hester et al.
1996), little is known
about the use of grasses
and forbs in Scottish
woodland.
Cliffs
(286 km2)
Water
(408 km2)
Bracken
(110 km2)
Scrub
(12 km2)
Others
(1216
km2)
(Caledonian)
pinewoods are
included as priority
habitats in the
European
Community Habitats
Directive.
Areas of exposed
rock, such as cliff
faces or scree.
Areas of fresh water
of more than 2ha.
Areas dominated by
bracken (Pteridium
aquilinum) forming
greater than 50%
ground cover have
been mapped
primarily on upland
farms or moorland
fringes or steep
slopes extending
along valley sides.
Areas of short,
stunted trees, bushes,
or shrubs growing
thickly together.
A catch all for
LCS88 classes which
occupied a very
small proportion of
the areas occupied by
red deer (e.g. arable,
marshes, dune, rural
development, etc).
Rock
Fresh water
Bracken
(Pteridium
aquilinum)
Gorse (Ulex
europaeus),
broom
(Cystisus
scoparius),
juniper
(Juniperus
communis)
Not relevant
* TOPEX is a measure of topographic exposure for a location, calculated by summing the
angle to the skyline in the eight cardinal directions (Quine & White 1998); thus, more
exposed locations will have a lower TOPEX score. Using a 50m resolution TOPEX raster
dataset, we calculated an average TOPEX value for each of the 4 main landcover classes
within the nDCAs used the in the study. TOPEX standard error is calculated for the number
of polygons of each habitats.
References
Britton AJ, Fisher JM (2007) Interactive effects of nitrogen deposition, fire and grazing on
diversity and composition of low-alpine prostrate Calluna vulgaris heathland. Journal of
Applied Ecology 44:125-135
Grant SA, Suckling DE, Smith HK, Torvell L, Forbes TDA, Hodgson J (1985) Comparative
studies of diet selection by sheep and cattle - the hill grasslands. Journal of Ecology 73:9871004
Grant SA, Torvell L, Smith HK, Suckling DE, Forbes TDA, Hodgson J (1987) Comparative
studies of diet selection by sheep and cattle - blanket bog and heather moor. Journal of
Ecology 75:947-960
Hester AJ, Baillie GJ (1998) Spatial and temporal patterns of heather use by sheep and red
deer within natural heather/grass mosaics. Journal of Applied Ecology 35:772-784
Hester AJ, Gordon IJ, Baillie GJ, Tappin E (1999) Foraging behaviour of sheep and red deer
within natural heather grass mosaics. Journal of Applied Ecology 36:133-146
Hester AJ, Mitchell FJG, Kirby KJ (1996) Effects of season and intensity of sheep grazing on
tree regeneration in a British upland woodland. For Ecol Manage 88:99-106
Mitchell B, Staines BW, Welch D (1977) Ecology of red deer: a research review relevant to
their management in Scotland. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Cambridge
Osborne BC (1984) Habitat use by red deer (Cervus elaphus L) and hill sheep in the west
highlands. Journal of Applied Ecology 21:497-506
Staines BW (1976) The use of natural shelter by Red deer (Cervus elaphus) in relation to
weather in North-east Scotland. J. Zool. Lond. 7.5:1-8
Staines BW, Crisp JM (1978) Observations on food quality in Scottish red deer (Cervus
elaphu) as determined by chemical analysis of the rumen contents. J. Zool. , Lond. 185:253259
Staines BW, Crisp JM, Parish T (1982) Differences in the quality of food eaten by red deer
(Cervus elaphus) stags and hinds in winter. Journal of Applied Ecology 19:65-77
Thompson DBA, Brown A (1992) Biodiversity in montane Britain: habitat variation,
vegetation diversity and some objectives for conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation
1:179-208