Impacts of culling and exclusion of browsers on vegetation recovery across New Zealand forests

► Long-term culling has reduced populations of browsers in New Zealand forests. ► Tree sapling densities increased when browsers were excluded completely. ► Abundant seedlings and stand disturbance speeded recovery but fern cover slowed it. ► Outside fences, preferred species were rarer in disturbed sites following culling. ► Culling does not allow recovery of these plants, even under suitable conditions.