EFFECTS OF ELK HERBIVORY ON VEGETATION AND NITROGEN PROCESSES

• Published in: The Journal of wildlife management Vol. 68; no. 4; pp. 837 - 849
• Main Authors: SCHOENECKER, KATHRYN A, SINGER, FRANCIS J, ZEIGENFUSS, LINDA C, BINKLEY, DAN, MENEZES, ROMULO S. C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2004; The Wildlife Society
• Subjects: Animal behavior; Animal populations; Biomass; Cervus elaphus; Colorado; CONTENTS; Elk; elk herbivory; Elks; Grasses; Grasslands; Herbivores; Herbivory; Highlands; Litter; Meadows; Mineralization; National parks; Nitrogen; overabundance; overgrazing; Plant biomass; Plant production; Plants; Rocky Mountain National Park; Salix; Shrubs; Soil fertility; Ungulates; Vegetation; Wildlife management; willows; Winter; United States > US; Colorado

We used 35-year and 4-year ungulate exclosures to determine the effects of elk (Cervus elaphus) herbivory on above-ground and below-ground production and soil fertility on the elk winter range in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Colorado, USA. We used paired grazed and ungrazed plots to evaluate...