Feltleaf willow-snowshoe hare interactions: Plant carbon/nutrient balance and floodplain succession
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Authors: J. P. Bryant
Date: 1987
Journal: Ecology
Volume: 68
Number: 5
Pages: 1319-1327
Summary of Methods: The effects of shading and fertilizer on the palatability, regrowth and phenolic concentrations of Salix alaxensis following simulated snowshoe hare browsing (Lepus americanus) were determined in this study. Simulated browsing reduced height, but enhanced twig growth, whereas shading reduced height and twig growth. Fertilizer and shade treatments reduced concentrations of phenolics and soluble carbohydrates in clipped plants, enhancing their palatability and reducing their ability to recover from browsing. The reduced height of browsed willows will most likely increase the shading of these plants within the plant community, and repeated browsing and shading will further reduce phenolic and soluble carbohydrate concentrations, eventually leading to the death of these plants.
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: alaska, antiherbivore defense, carbon/nutrient balance, floodplain succession, hare browsing, snowshoe hare, lepus americanus, feltleaf willow, salix alaxensis
Annotation: Cuttings of equal mass from the 10-35 cm aboveground height zone of 240 individual sexually mature S. alaxensis plants were rooted and grown for five growing seasons (May 1978-September 1982) in a uniform soil in a common garden at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.,In mid-May of 1980, at the beginning of the third growing season, the 120 plants selected for nutrient addition were fertilized and this fertilizer was applied to the area around each plant every 2 weeks until the end of June of 1980.,A similar fertilizer application was made each subsequent growing season until the end of the experiment in February 1983. In February 1982, 120 plants were selected for simulated hare browsing, including 60 fertilized and 60 unfertilized plants, all had their stems clipped at 25 cm above snow level.
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