Which of the following best captures the relationship between voles and girding damage?

• A. Voles can gird bark at the base and cause plant death
• B. Voles only feed on leaves
• C. Voles never damage bark
• D. Voles only live above ground

Answer: (A)

Voles cause girdling damage by gnawing a ring of bark around the base of woody plants. When a strip of bark is removed all the way around the stem, the phloem, which carries sugars from leaves to roots, is interrupted. That cut in the nutrient flow can starve the roots and ultimately kill or severely weaken the plant, especially at the crown or near ground level where voles commonly feed and move.

This makes girdling a characteristic and serious form of vole damage, not just simple leaf feeding. Voles do not only feed on leaves, and they can damage bark as part of their feeding behavior. They also live and travel at or just below ground level, not exclusively above ground, so their impact isn’t limited to above-ground surfaces.