Soil chemistry, and not short-term (1-2 year) deer exclusion, explains understory plant occupancy in forests affected by acid deposition.

The loss of species diversity and plant community structure throughout the temperate deciduous forests of North America have often been attributed to overbrowsing by white-tailed deer (). Slow species recovery following removal from browsing, or reduction in deer density, has been termed a legacy effect of past deer herbivory. However, vegetation legacy effects have also coincided with changes to soil chemistry throughout the north-eastern USA.