Plant-herbivore-hydroperiod interactions: Effects of native mammals on floodplain tree recruitment
Andersen DC and Cooper DJ. 2000. Plant-herbivore-hydroperiod interactions: Effects of native mammals on floodplain tree recruitment. Ecological Applications. 10(5):1384-1399
Floodplain plant-herbivore-hydroperiod interactions have received little attention despite their potential as determinants of floodplain structure and functioning." To explore this, the authors used study areas on the Green and Yampa rivers in Dinosaur National Monument, areas similar except that the Green River has regulated flows. Different types of exclosure restricted mammalian herbivores by size. Resulting data show that one vole reduced cottonwood survival on the Green River but much less so on the Yampa, suggesting that the usual vole population decrease from spring flooding did not occur on the regulated river. Sapling height, however, was more affected by herbivory in the Yampa area, due to overwintering deer and elk, according to the authors, and unrelated to flow regulation. Beaver use was similar in the two reaches. The authors' abstract concludes that "changes in riparian plant-herbivore relationships due to shifts in river hydrology may be a common and important consequence of river regulation." With tables of mammal data, plant survivorship.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Andersen, Douglas; Cooper, David
- Units
- DINO
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Browsing, Cottonwood (Populus), Dam Effects, Flood Plain, Green River, Herbivores, Mammals, Plant Studies, Riparian Zone, Rodents (Rodentia), Trees, Vegetation, Yampa River