Elk effects on Bandelier National Monument meadows and grasslands
Wolters GL. 1996. Elk effects on Bandelier National Monument meadows and grasslands. Pages 196-205. In Wolters GL (ed): Fire effects in Southwestern forests: proceedings of the Second La Mesa Fire Symposium, Los Alamos, New Mexico, March 29-31, 1994. Los Alamos, New Mexico. March 29-31, 1994. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Fort Collins, Colorado. General technical report RM-GTR-286
"A study was undertaken during 1992-93 to quantify botanical composition and determine forage production, use and preference by Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) on a seasonal basis on 2 Bandelier National Monument habitat types which included 2 sites on lowland grasslands (occurring on mesas in the midst of the Pinus ponderosa vegetation zone) and 3 sites on montane meadow areas. In 1993, the mesa grassland habitat (created by the 1977 La Mesa Fire), was dominated by Festuca ovina, Andropogon scoparius [Schizachyrium scoparium] and Muhlenbergia montana. Montane meadows were dominated by low to mid-seral introduced species such as Poa pratensis, Trifolium repens and Taraxacum officinale. P. pratensis and were heavily grazed by C. elaphus. Total plant cover on these sites was about 40% greater on a portion of one meadow protected from grazing by elk for several years. The changes observed in species composition and litter, after a few years protection from elk, suggested that montane meadows may respond rapidly to reduced elk grazing pressure. Annual production averaged about 1,600 and 1,000 kg/ha on montane meadows and grassland sites, respectively. Utilization was about 50% on the meadows and only about 25% on the grasslands. Warm season grasses such as Bouteloua gracilis, A. scoparius, M. wrightii and Aristida arizonica were the principal forage species consumed on grassland sites while P. pratensis, Potentilla pulcherrima and Galium stellatum were the most common species consumed by elk on montane meadows." [Tree CD]
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Wolters, Gale
- Units
- BAND
- Keywords
- Diet, Elk (Cervus elaphus), Fire Ecology, Food Preference, Plant Studies, Vegetation