Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park
Includes bibliographical references. A decline in the stature and abundance of willows during the 20th century occurred throughout the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, where riparian woody-plant communities are key components in multiple-trophic-level interactions. The potential causes o...
Published in: | Ecological Applications |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
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Colorado State University. Libraries
2016
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173670 https://doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1 |
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ftcolostateunidc:oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/173670 |
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record_format |
openpolar |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University) |
op_collection_id |
ftcolostateunidc |
language |
English |
topic |
dendrochronology ecological threshold ecosystem engineer fluvial geomorphology hysteresis resilience restoration trophic cascade Canis lupus Castor canadensis Cervus elaphus Salix |
spellingShingle |
dendrochronology ecological threshold ecosystem engineer fluvial geomorphology hysteresis resilience restoration trophic cascade Canis lupus Castor canadensis Cervus elaphus Salix Wolf, Evan C. Cooper, David J. Hobbs, N. Thompson Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park |
topic_facet |
dendrochronology ecological threshold ecosystem engineer fluvial geomorphology hysteresis resilience restoration trophic cascade Canis lupus Castor canadensis Cervus elaphus Salix |
description |
Includes bibliographical references. A decline in the stature and abundance of willows during the 20th century occurred throughout the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, where riparian woody-plant communities are key components in multiple-trophic-level interactions. The potential causes of willow decline include climate change, increased elk browsing coincident with the loss of an apex predator, the gray wolf, and an absence of habitat engineering by beavers. The goal of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of willow establishment through the 20th century and to identify causal processes. Sampled willows established from 1917 to 1999 and contained far fewer young individuals than was predicted from a modeled stable willow population, indicating reduced establishment during recent decades. Two hydrologically distinct willow establishment environments were identified: fine grained beaver pond sediments and coarse-grained alluvium. Willows established on beaver pond sediment earlier in time, higher on floodplain surfaces, and farther from the current stream channel than did willows on alluvial sediment. Significant linear declines from the 1940s to the 1990s in alluvial willow establishment elevation and lateral distance from the stream channel resulted in a much reduced area of alluvial willow establishment. Willow establishment was not well correlated with climate-driven hydrologic variables, but the trends were consistent with the effects of stream channel incision initiated in ca. 1950, 20-30 years after beaver dam abandonment. Radiocarbon dates and floodplain stratigraphy indicate that stream incision of the present magnitude may be unprecedented in the past two millennia. We propose that hydrologic changes, stemming from competitive exclusion of beaver by elk over browsing, caused the landscape to transition from a historical beaver-pond and willow mosaic state to its current alternative stable state where active beaver dams and many willow stands are absent. Because of ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Wolf, Evan C. Cooper, David J. Hobbs, N. Thompson |
author_facet |
Wolf, Evan C. Cooper, David J. Hobbs, N. Thompson |
author_sort |
Wolf, Evan C. |
title |
Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park |
title_short |
Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park |
title_full |
Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park |
title_fullStr |
Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park |
title_full_unstemmed |
Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park |
title_sort |
hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in yellowstone national park |
publisher |
Colorado State University. Libraries |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173670 https://doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.848,-56.848,49.600,49.600) |
geographic |
Beaver Pond |
geographic_facet |
Beaver Pond |
genre |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
op_source |
Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Shoot Level Spring Current Annual Growth on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2003 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173654 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Shoot Level Fall Current Annual Growth on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2002 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173653 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Plant Level Fall Current Annual Growth And Height on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2002 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173649 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Stem Level Spring Current Annual Growth on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2003 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173652 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Stem Level Fall Current Annual Growth on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2002 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173651 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Plant Level Spring Current Annual Growth and Height on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2003 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173650 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Willow Browse Intensity and Spring/Fall Production on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2003 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173648 |
op_relation |
Faculty Publications - Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Wolf, Evan C., David J. Cooper, and N. Thompson Hobbs. Hydrologic Regime and Herbivory Stabilize an Alternative State in Yellowstone National Park. Ecological Applications 17, issue 6 (September 2007): 1572-1587. httpss://dx.doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173670 https://dx.doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1 |
op_rights |
©2007 Ecological Society of America |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1 |
container_title |
Ecological Applications |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1572 |
op_container_end_page |
1587 |
_version_ |
1766386223191949312 |
spelling |
ftcolostateunidc:oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/173670 2023-05-15T15:51:10+02:00 Hydrologic regime and herbivory stabilize an alternative state in Yellowstone National Park Wolf, Evan C. Cooper, David J. Hobbs, N. Thompson 2016-07-21T18:03:58Z born digital articles application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173670 https://doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1 English eng eng Colorado State University. Libraries Ecological Society of America Faculty Publications - Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Wolf, Evan C., David J. Cooper, and N. Thompson Hobbs. Hydrologic Regime and Herbivory Stabilize an Alternative State in Yellowstone National Park. Ecological Applications 17, issue 6 (September 2007): 1572-1587. httpss://dx.doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173670 https://dx.doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1 ©2007 Ecological Society of America Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Shoot Level Spring Current Annual Growth on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2003 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173654 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Shoot Level Fall Current Annual Growth on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2002 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173653 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Plant Level Fall Current Annual Growth And Height on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2002 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173649 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Stem Level Spring Current Annual Growth on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2003 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173652 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Stem Level Fall Current Annual Growth on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2002 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173651 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Plant Level Spring Current Annual Growth and Height on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2003 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173650 Hobbs, Tom, Dan Kotter. Willow Browse Intensity and Spring/Fall Production on Experimental Plots in Yellowstone's Northern Range, 2003 - 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/173648 dendrochronology ecological threshold ecosystem engineer fluvial geomorphology hysteresis resilience restoration trophic cascade Canis lupus Castor canadensis Cervus elaphus Salix Text 2016 ftcolostateunidc https://doi.org/10.1890/06-2042.1 2023-03-02T18:36:35Z Includes bibliographical references. A decline in the stature and abundance of willows during the 20th century occurred throughout the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, where riparian woody-plant communities are key components in multiple-trophic-level interactions. The potential causes of willow decline include climate change, increased elk browsing coincident with the loss of an apex predator, the gray wolf, and an absence of habitat engineering by beavers. The goal of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of willow establishment through the 20th century and to identify causal processes. Sampled willows established from 1917 to 1999 and contained far fewer young individuals than was predicted from a modeled stable willow population, indicating reduced establishment during recent decades. Two hydrologically distinct willow establishment environments were identified: fine grained beaver pond sediments and coarse-grained alluvium. Willows established on beaver pond sediment earlier in time, higher on floodplain surfaces, and farther from the current stream channel than did willows on alluvial sediment. Significant linear declines from the 1940s to the 1990s in alluvial willow establishment elevation and lateral distance from the stream channel resulted in a much reduced area of alluvial willow establishment. Willow establishment was not well correlated with climate-driven hydrologic variables, but the trends were consistent with the effects of stream channel incision initiated in ca. 1950, 20-30 years after beaver dam abandonment. Radiocarbon dates and floodplain stratigraphy indicate that stream incision of the present magnitude may be unprecedented in the past two millennia. We propose that hydrologic changes, stemming from competitive exclusion of beaver by elk over browsing, caused the landscape to transition from a historical beaver-pond and willow mosaic state to its current alternative stable state where active beaver dams and many willow stands are absent. Because of ... Text Canis lupus gray wolf Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University) Beaver Pond ENVELOPE(-56.848,-56.848,49.600,49.600) Ecological Applications 17 6 1572 1587 |