Effects of moose browsing on vegetation and litter of the boreal forest, Isle Royale, Michigan, USA
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Authors: P. F. McInnes, R. J. Naiman, J. Pastor, and Y. Cohen
Date: 1992
Journal: Ecology
Volume: 73
Number: 6
Pages: 2059-2075
Summary of Methods: McInnes et al. examined the influence of moose (Alces alces) on aboveground biomass, production, and annual litterfall using four moose exclosures and paired browsing plots on Isle Royale, Michigan. In terms of species richness, moose browsing did not alter the number of plant species. The mean tree biomass was significantly greater in the exclosures than in browsed plots (230 and 150 Mg/ha). Every exclosure had more trees than corresponding browsed plots. The abundance of most species in the browsed plots and exclosures varied widely from site to site, only balsam fir (Abies balsamea) biomass differed significantly between the browsed and exclosure plots (2 vs. 24 Mg/ha). The mean shrub biomass of all exclosures, 1.9 Mg/ha, was less than in the browsed plots, 3.1 Mg/ha. There was no significant difference between shrub production in the exclosures, 0.4 Mg . ha-1 . yr-1, and browsed plots, 0.3 Mg.ha-1.yr-1, although shrub production differed greatly between stands. Browsing also had little effect on the amount of nutrients returned to the soil through litter-plus-herb material. Overall, moose removed from 0.01 to 20.6 kg.ha-1.yr-1 of plant material from the browsed plots, and these results indicate that the major effect of moose browsing on the Isle Royale boreal forest was an opening of the tree canopy. With this opening of the canopy, the herb layer became a greater portion of the community biomass.
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: moose, alces alces, biomass, boreal forest, browsing, herbivory, litter, production, ungulates
Annotation: Aboveground herb biomass and production were estimated by clipping herbs from 10 randomly chosen plots in the exclosures and the browsed plots during mid-August 1987.
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