Factors affecting moose browsing in young Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands was studied in southern Finland. A total of 118 young stands, including stands forming a high density winter rnage, were inspected in 1988- 89. The number of browsed twigs on the different tree species making up the stands emphasized the importance of food resource availability on moose feeding. On the high density winter range, pubescent birch (Betula pubescens) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) were the main tree species browsed upon. Browsing of pine increased, when the total density of young stands as well as the density of admixed deciduous tree species increased. The densities of birch and rowan, in particular, were correlated with the browsing intensity on pine saplings. However, the occurrence of preferred tree species did not clearly explain the choice of wintering area. In the area harbouring a low average moose density, there were no clear correlations between stand characteristics studied and moose browsing which obviously related to the high biological carrying capacity. In rich forest types with high densities of deciduous trees the browsing intensity was high. Main stem damages of pine commonly occurred on the high density winter range, when the density of birch was over 6500 saplings/ha. As the height relationship between birch and pine increased, the degree of damage increased significantly. Silvicultural cleaning was commonly carried out at an early stage of stand development and had no significant effect on the damage. A low density of Scots pine stands easily leads to serious damage in respect to acceptable stand density recommendations. Where high proportions of young as well as spruce dominated forests were located in the vicinity of young pine stands clear increase in the browsing preference on pine was observed. The importance of this forest type is probably related to the amount of undergrowth vegetation and dwarf shrubs. It can be concluded from this study that accurate predictions of moose damage are only possible in winter range areas with a high density of moose.
