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Browsing can be an environmental stress to forest ecosystems, where the composition and structure of plant communities depend on the balance between ungulate browsing and the ability of plants to tolerate and acclimate to this stressor. Tree planting is a management tool for restoring forest whose integrity has been compromised by the intensity and repetition of browsing. This tool may be insufficient when the stress leading to forest degradation is ongoing. Balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) plantations are used on Anticosti Island (Quebec, Canada) to restore winter habitat for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann, 1780). To promote natural regeneration and growth of planted firs that are the staple winter forage of deer, enclosures were temporarily erected and deer densities reduced to decrease browsing pressure. The stress induced by heavy browsing at the time of fence removal and the …