Can I read Strong Seasonality May Attenuate Trophic Cascades: Vertebrate Predator Exclusion in Boreal Grassland on EtoBox?

Strong Seasonality May Attenuate Trophic Cascades: Vertebrate Predator Exclusion in Boreal Grassland by Kai Norrdahl; Tero Klemola; Erkki Korpimäki; Minna Koivula is a Environmental Science article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Strong Seasonality May Attenuate Trophic Cascades: Vertebrate Predator Exclusion in Boreal Grassland about?

We studied the indirect effects of vertebrate predator exclusion on plant communities in boreal grassland in western Finland to find out whether the removal of the top trophic level would result in a trophic cascade. Predators were excluded from 1996 to 2000 by eight predator‐proof fences (each 0.5 ha) constructed on old fields. Despite a major increase in vole densities, the expected trophic cascade attenuated rapidly so that the indirect effects of predator exclusion were restricted to a few plant species. The cause for the rapid attenuation of the trophic cascade appeared to be strong seasonality, as peak densities of voles were attained at the end of the growing season of vegetation, and vole populations declined before the next growing season so that the herbivory pressure during the growing season remained low or moderate. Accordingly, most plants escaped the heaviest grazing pressure either in time (plants completed their reproduction and withered before winter) or in space (living parts hidden under frozen ground and ice). However, heavy winter herbivory reduced the biomass of available vegetation and killed woody species (willows) at vole peaks, which implies that predator

Who reads Strong Seasonality May Attenuate Trophic Cascades: Vertebrate Predator Exclusion in Boreal Grassland?

Author

Kai Norrdahl; Tero Klemola; Erkki Korpimäki; Minna Koivula

Publisher

John Wiley and Sons; Wiley (Blackwell Publishing); Blackwell Publishing Inc.; Wiley; JSTOR (ISSN 0030-1299)

Published

2002

Language

EN

Field

Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)