Upland plant community classification in Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada, using disturbance history and physical site factors
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Authors: E. W. Bork, R. J. Hudson, and A. W. Bailey
Date: 1997
Journal: Plant ecology
Volume: 130
Number:
Pages: 171-190
Summary of Methods: The objective of this study was to classify upland sites sampled from an area in and around Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada, into community types, and interpret the effects of fire and wild ungulate herbivory. The results using TWINSPAN support the hypothesis that topography, herbivory, and fire have combined to produce six community types. Despite a high degree of species overlap among sites, specific indicator species varied enough to differentiate among the six community types. Based on a forward regression, topography, ungulate use, and prescribed burning related closely to the first two canonical axes, accounting for 47.2 and 21.1% of the species-environment relation among sites, respectively. This information provided the basis for preliminary state and transition model of vegetation dynamics for these rangelands, which could be used to assist park managers in manipulating plant communities within the landscape using ungulate removal and prescribed burning programs.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: elk island national park, alberta, twinspan, aspen forest, canonical correspondence analysis, ordination, prescribed burning, ungulate herbivory, uplands
Annotation: None
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