Species composition and herbage production of mountain rangelands in northern British Columbia

Seip, Dale R.; Bunnell, Fred L.

doi:10.1139/b85-291

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Leymus innovatus-dominant plant communities appeared to replace Calamagrostis purpurascens vegetation south of the sociation's distribution (cf. Hansen, 1951;Seip and Bunnell, 1985). The Carmacks -Pelly Crossing sociations differed from other grasslands in various respects.…”

Section: Regional Plant Community Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Grass-dominated communities, however, are not restricted to this biome. They also occur among conifer forests on favorable site conditions in the mountains of southwestern Alberta (Stringer, 1973;Holland and Coen, 1982;Grande Cache Coal Company, 2001), northern British Columbia (Seip and Bunnell, 1985;Pojar, 1986), and southwest Yukon (Hoefs et al, 1975;Vetter, 2000;Chambers, 2010). Grass-dominated vegetation was also relatively common among mixedwood forests, as far north as ~58˚ in the Peace River district of northwestern Alberta until the mid-1900s.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most frequently reported indigenous grassland community along the eastern slopes of the Canadian Cordillera is dominated by Leymus innovatus (hairy wild rye), often with Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry) as a codominant (e.g., Holland and Coen, 1982;Beckingham et al, 1996;Strong, 1996;Grande Cache Coal Company, 2001), and it occurs as far north as 59˚ N latitude (Seip and Bunnell, 1985). Such plant communities often represent less than 2% of the regional vegetation (e.g., Strong, 1996;Grande Cache Coal Company, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High-Latitude Yukon Boreal-Cordilleran Grassland Plant Communities

Strong¹

2015

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. .8˚ N) graminoid plant communities located near the northern limit of boreal forest occurrence in the Carmacks -Pelly Crossing area of Yukon were sampled and classified, and four sociations were recognized: Calamagrostis purpurascens (purple reedgrass), Hesperostipa comata (needle-and-thread grass), Poa glauca -Artemisia frigida (glaucous bluegrass -pasture sagewort), and Pseudoroegneria spicata -Artemisia frigida (bluebunch wheatgrass -pasture sagewort). These plant communities occurred primarily on south-southwest slopes (180˚ -230˚) with 45% -75% gradients. Relative to southern Canada mixedgrass prairie, Yukon grasslands were likely species poor, had less total canopy cover, and produced less than half as much aboveground herb biomass (typically 200 -300 kg/ha). The distribution of the sociations appeared limited to ~60˚ -65˚ N latitude in the Yukon-Alaska region. Calamagrostis was the most abundant and widespread grassland sociation in the study area. The four sociations occupied less than 4% of the Carmacks -Pelly Crossing landscape, although they represented the most extensive high-latitude boreal grassland vegetation in Canada (≥ 2600 ha) and they were among the most northerly in North America.

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Section: Regional Plant Community Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High-Latitude Yukon Boreal-Cordilleran Grassland Plant Communities

Strong¹

2015

ARCTIC

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Range Constraints for Introduced Elk in Southwest Yukon, Canada

Strong¹,

Chambers²,

Jung³

2013

ARCTIC

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Forage availability, snow depths, and winter temperatures were assessed to determine if they might impose range constraints on introduced elk (Cervus elaphus) that voluntarily colonized a 95 km 2 area of southwest Yukon (Canada) in 1959. Parkland-like vegetation of stunted aspen (Populus tremuloides) and nonforest upland plant communities, which is atypical vegetation for a boreal forest environment, composed 30% of the colonized area. About 95% of the area produced less than 300 kg/ha of forage, which represents poor productivity compared to more southern elk ranges. In the remaining 5%, indigenous graminoid communities produced (average ± SD) 408 ± 131 kg/ha of forage, exceeded only by nonindigenous roadside vegetation with 652 ± 115 kg/ha. Data from radio-collared animals indicated that most elk occurrences (38% year-round) were associated with parkland-like vegetation, and fecal pellet groups were six times as frequent in indigenous graminoid vegetation as in forest vegetation. Late February 2011 snow depths of 41 ± 7 cm, during a year with a belownormal snowfall, suggested a potential for reduced winter access to forage. Meteorological data from 1981-2010 indicate that one-third of winter daily minima in the study area were likely lower than −20˚C, a threshold below which the metabolism of an elk calf must increase to maintain its body temperature. Each assessed habitat variable was unfavorable to elk compared with other western North American winter ranges, which may have limited the development of a more robust population in the southwestern Yukon.

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Species composition and herbage production of mountain rangelands in northern British Columbia

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

High-Latitude Yukon Boreal-Cordilleran Grassland Plant Communities

High-Latitude Yukon Boreal-Cordilleran Grassland Plant Communities

Range Constraints for Introduced Elk in Southwest Yukon, Canada

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