Predator-prey interactions can trigger behavioural responses in ungulates, influencing their space-use and foraging behaviour and, in turn, indirectly affecting browsing pressure. Changes in browsing pressure can affect plant recruitment and species composition, shaping forest regeneration through predator-mediated trophic cascades. Despite ecological significance, the extent to which predators indirectly affect browsing remains debated, particularly in anthropogenic landscapes where human impacts can interact with predator effects. In this study, we investigated interactions across trophic guilds and their consequences for ungulate browsing pressure while accounting for human activities. Human disturbance was quantified using surveys of recreational activities and hunting locations. Wolf space-use and kill-sites density were mapped from GPS telemetry; lynx and red and roe deer density was modelled from camera trap data. To monitor vegetation change, browsing pressure was assessed through landscape-scale field surveys in two years: before and after wolf establishment. All datasets were modelled to evaluate tri-trophic interactions in the Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany). On a landscape-scale, browsing pressure was lower in the core of wolf territories and areas with higher human recreation intensity, whereas deer presence was not lower in these areas. In contrast, browsing pressure was greater in areas with higher lynx activity and higher wolf kill-sites density. Here also red deer presence was higher. Comparison of browsing data between before and after wolf establishment indicated that wolf recolonization locally altered deer browsing patterns but not overall browsing intensity. Overall browsing intensity increased across the park but declined within high wolf utilisation density areas. By analysing tri-trophic interactions incorporating human activities, this study provides field-based insights into trophic interactions in a temperate forest ecosystem. Results indicate that returning predators can resume their ecological functions within anthropogenic landscapes, with wolf effects on lower trophic levels comparable in strength to those of humans in shaping ungulate browsing patterns.

Decades of persecution resulted in the long-term absence of Grey wolves (Canis lupus) from most European countries. However, recent changes in both legislation and public attitudes toward wolves have eased the pressure and, over the last 20 years, wolves have begun rapidly re-establishing territories in their previous Central European habitats. Unfortunately, those habitats are now heavily altered by humans. Understanding the spatial ecology of wolves in such highly modified environments is crucial, given the high potential for conflict and the need to reconcile their return with multiple human concerns. We equipped twelve wolves (from eight packs) in five Central European areas with GPS collars and calculated their monthly home ranges using Autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimation. In addition, we used ESA WorldCover data to assess the mosaic of available habitats within each home range. Home range size for most wolves (84.6%) ranged from 56.4 to 259.7 km2. Our data confirmed the general seasonal pattern for breeding individuals, with smaller apparent home ranges during the reproduction phase and non-breeders showing no specific pattern. Somewhat predictably, our wolves showed a general preference for remote areas, and especially forests. Some animals within military training areas also showed a broader preference for grasslands, which could be influenced by the specific land use of this habitat type and the high availability of prey. Our results provide a comprehensive insight into the ecology of wolves during their re-colonisation of Central Europe. Though wolves are spreading relatively rapidly across Central European landscapes, their permanent reoccupation remains uncertain due to conflicting concerns with the human population. To secure the restoration of European wolf populations, further robust biological data, including data on spatial ecology, will be needed to clearly identify the management implications.