Aspen Bibliography

Impact of Large Ungulates in Restoration of Aspen Communities in a Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Ecosystem

Document Type

Conference

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Sustainable Ecological Systems: Implementing an Ecological Approach to Land Management

Volume

GTR-RM-247

First Page

344

Last Page

347

Location

Flagstaff, AZ

Publication Date

1994

Abstract

Experience has shown that in some areas of the Southwest, regenerating aspen suckers require fencing to protect them from browsing elk. In October, 1991 we removed the fence surrounding a 6.5 ha aspen sucker stand north of Flagstaff, Arizona to test whether the trees were large enough to be out of reach of the animals. The site had been fenced for five years following clearfelling of several clones that comprised the original stand. The regenerated stand averaged 50,000 stems/ha with dominant stems over 3 m in height. By October, 1992, most stems in one clone had been severely damaged by elk. Animals broke many stems to reach the terminal foliage, often infecting the residual stem with Cytospora canker. Monitoring will continue to determine if the remaining clones will be browsed in future years. It appears that fencing must remain in place indefinitely in this ecosystem, given the demand for browse associated with current high animal populations.

Link to Full Text

Share

 
COinS