Prairie vegetation and soil nutrient responses to ungulate carcasses |
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Authors: | E G Towne |
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Institution: | (1) Division of Biology, Ackert Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-4901, USA e-mail: egtowne@ksu.edu Fax: +1-785-5326653, US |
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Abstract: | The impact of large ungulate carcasses on grassland dynamics was investigated by monitoring vegetation and soil nutrients
in 50-cm circular zones around the center of bison (Bos bison), cattle (B. taurus), and deer (Odocoileus virginianus) carcasses. An ungulate carcass creates an intense localized disturbance that varies with animal size and the season of death.
Unlike other natural disturbances, carcasses deposit a concentrated pulse of nutrients into the soil. One year after death,
inorganic nitrogen concentrations were significantly higher in the inner 50 cm at both adult and juvenile carcass sites than
in surrounding prairie. Areas around a carcass became zones of fertility that favored different components of the vegetation
and stimulated biomass production. Species richness and diversity at the center of carcass sites were lowest 1 year after
death, but increased significantly in subsequent years. However, warm-season perennial grasses declined near the center of
carcass sites and did not recover. Five years after death, ungulate carcass sites remained disturbed patches that harbored
vegetation characteristically different in composition and stature from surrounding prairie. By providing a niche for species
not normally found in undisturbed prairie, carcasses increased community heterogeneity and may play an important role in adding
spatial complexity to grassland ecosytems.
Received: 12 April 1999 / Accepted: 7 September 1999 |
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Keywords: | Disturbance Succession Carrion Tallgrass prairie Soil nutrients |
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