Nitrogen fertilization stimulates herbivory by snowshoe hares in the boreal forest
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Authors: V. O. Nams, N. F. G. Folkard, and J. N. M. Smith
Date: 1996
Journal: Canadian Journal of Zoology
Volume: 74
Number:
Pages: 196-199
Summary of Methods: In the Yukon, a study of snowshoe hares, Lepus americanus, showed that they produced more pellets on plots with more fertilizer, than on plots with less fertilizer. Snowshoe hares also produced more pellets near plots with more fertilizer than near plots with less fertilizer. Also, fertilization increased the ratio of time spent on plots to time spent off of the plots. From the results, one could conclude that the change in pellet density reflects a change in hare movement rather than in defecation rate. Thus, the authors concluded that hares concentrated their activity both on and near fertilized plots. Grazing intensity was measured as the proportion of grass stems grazed, and since grass biomass increased by 40% from the 25-N to 125-N plots, hares grazed more grass on plots with higher fertilizer levels.
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: snowshoe hare, lepus americanus, arctic ground squirrel, spermophilus parryi, herbivory, grazing, nitrogen fertilization, pellets
Annotation: Grazing intensity is not specified.
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