Moose browsing and soil fertility in the boreal forests of Isle Royale National Park

• Published in: Ecology (Durham) Vol. 74; no. 2; pp. 467 - 480
• Main Authors: Pastor, J., Dewey, B., Naiman, R. J., McInnes, P. F., Cohen, Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC The Ecological Society of America 01-03-1993; Ecological Society of America; Brooklyn Botanic Garden, etc
• Subjects: Agricultural soils; Alces alces; Animal and plant ecology; Animal behavior; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; BOREAL FORESTS; BOSQUE BOREAL; BROWSING; Carbon; Deer; ECOLOGIA FORESTAL; ECOLOGIE FORESTIERE; ECOSISTEMA; ECOSYSTEME; ECOSYSTEMS; FAECES; FECES; FERTILIDAD DEL SUELO; FERTILITE DU SOL; FOREST ECOLOGY; FOREST SOILS; FORET BOREALE; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; HECES; METABOLISME DE L'AZOTE; METABOLISMO DEL NITROGENO; MICHIGAN; MINERALISATION; MINERALIZACION; MINERALIZATION; Nitrogen; NITROGEN CYCLE; NITROGEN METABOLISM; Nutrient availability; Pastors; PATURAGE AERIEN; Plant litter; RAMONEO; Soil air; Soil ecology; SOIL FERTILITY; Soils; SOL DE FORET; SUELO FORESTAL; Synecology; Terrestrial ecosystems; United States; North America; America; Michigan; USA, Michigan, Isle Royale Natl. Park; Forests; Primary productivity; Floristic composition; Herbivorous; Litter; Soil fertility; Alces alces; Browsing; Forest soil; Biogeochemical cycle; Excreta; National park; Trophic chain; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Nitrogen cycle; Mineralization; Artiodactyla; Vegetation structure; Ungulata
• ISSN: 0012-9658; 1939-9170
• DOI: 10.2307/1939308

Selective foraging by moose on hardwoods and avoidance of conifers alters community composition and structure, which in turn can affect nutrient cycles and productivity. The effect of moose browsing on the nutrient cycles of boreal forests was studied using three 40-yr-old exclosures on Isle Royale, Michigan. Two alternative mechanisms by which moose affect ecosystems were tested: (1) moose depress both the quantity and quality of litter return to the soil, and hence N mineralization and net primary productivity, by browsing on hardwoods and avoiding conifers; (2) moose stimulate N mineralization, and hence net primary productivity, by opening the canopy and by dropping fecal pellets. Soil nutrient availability and microbial activity, including exchangeable cations, total carbon and nitrogen, nitrogen mineralization rates, and microbial respiration rates, were uniformly higher in exclosures than outside. These differences were more significant where browsing intensity was high and less often significant where browsing intensity was low. N mineralization in browsed plots declined with increasing moose consumption rates. Net primary production in exclosures and browsed plots was strongly correlated with N mineralization. N mineralization in turn was positively correlated with litter N return and negatively correlated with litter cellulose content. These differences in litter quantity and quality were caused by an increased abundance of unbrowsed spruce outside the exclosures. Moose pellets alone mineralized less N but more C than soil alone, but pellets combined with soil stimulated N and C mineralization more than the sum of the two separately. However, this did not appear to be sufficient to offset the depression in nitrogen and carbon mineralization in soil resulting from the increased abundance of unbrowsed spruce. We conclude that, in the long term, high rates of moose browsing depress N mineralization and net primary production through the indirect effects on recruitment into the tree stratum, and subsequent depression of litter N return and litter quality. These results suggest that the effects of herbivores on ecosystems may be amplified by positive feedbacks between plant litter and soil nutrient availability.