Open AccessThe Interaction of Fire, Vegetation and Large Mammalian Herbivores, on Ecosystem Processes in Yellowstone National Park
Author(s) -
Benjamin F. Tracy,
S. J. McNaughton
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
annual report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2693-2407
pISSN - 2693-2385
DOI - 10.13001/uwnpsrc.1991.3043
Subject(s) - herbivore , national park , ecosystem , vegetation (pathology) , ecology , steppe , geography , environmental science , range (aeronautics) , fire ecology , biology , medicine , materials science , pathology , composite material
There is substantial observational evidence suggesting positive interactions among fire, vegetation and large mammalian herbivores within Yellowstone National Park. The purpose of this research project is to quantify these potential interactions and explain their interactive effects on ecosystem processes (e.g. nutrient cycling). The basic study design utilizes burned areas from the 1988 fires with adjacent unburned areas to comparatively quantify ecosystem process information. Two paired study sites were chosen in three locations (Hellroaring Slope, Swan Lake Flat and Hayden Valley) representing winter, transitional and summer range for portions of the Northern elk herd. All study sites can be characterized as mesic sagebrush steppe dominated by the grasses Festuca idahoensis and Agropryron spp.