Skip to main content
Author(s):
Bryan A. Endress, Michael J. Wisdom, Martin Vavra, Catherine G. Parks, Brian L. Dick, Bridgett J. Naylor, Jennifer M. Boyd
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Fire Effects
Ecological - Second Order
Vegetation
Wildlife
Fire & Wildlife
Mammals
Ungulates
Fuels
Fuel Treatments & Effects
Mechanical treatments
Prescribed Fire-use treatments
Ecosystem(s):
Montane dry mixed-conifer forest, Aspen woodland

NRFSN number: 8337
FRAMES RCS number: 12986
Record updated:

Herbivory by domestic and wild ungulates can dramatically affect vegetation structure, composition and dynamics in nearly every terrestrial ecosystem of the world. These effects are of particular concern in forests of western North America, where intensive herbivory by native and domestic ungulates has the potential to substantially reduce or eliminate deciduous, highly palatable species of aspen (Populus tremuloides), cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), and willow (Salix spp.). In turn, differential herbivory pressure may favor greater establishment of unpalatable conifers that serve as ladder fuels for stand-replacing fires. The resulting high fuel loads often require silvicultural fuels reductions to mitigate fire risk, which in turn may facilitate additional recruitment of deciduous species but also additional herbivory pressure. Potential interactions of ungulate herbivory with episodic disturbances of silviculture, fire, and other land uses are not well documented, but are thought to operate synergistically to affect forest dynamics. We evaluated individual and joint effects of ungulate herbivory and fuels reduction treatments in grand fir (Abies grandis) and Douglas-fir (Psuedotsuga menziezii) forests that dominate large areas of interior western North America. Recruitment and long-term survival of aspen, cottonwood, and willow species in coniferous forests of interior western North America require a combination of episodic disturbances such as silviculture and fire to facilitate deciduous plant recruitment, followed by reductions in grazing pressure by domestic and wild ungulates during the time intervals between episodic disturbances to facilitate plant establishment, growth and survival.

Citation

Endress, Bryan A.; Wisdom, Michael J.; Vavra, Martin; Parks, Catherine G.; Dick, Brian L.; Naylor, Bridgett J.; Boyd, Jennifer M. 2012. Effects of ungulate herbivory on aspen, cottonwood, and willow development under forest fuels treatment regimes. Forest Ecology and Management. 276: 33-40.

Access this Document

Treesearch

publication access with no paywall

Check to see if this document is available for free in the USDA Forest Service Treesearch collection of publications. The collection includes peer reviewed publications in scientific journals, books, conference proceedings, and reports produced by Forest Service employees, as well as science synthesis publications and other products from Forest Service Research Stations.