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Buffaloberry [Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt.] fruit production in fire-successional bear feeding sites
Author
Hamer, D.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1996-11-01
Body

Buffaloberry [Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt.] fruits are the usual late-summer food for bears (Ursus spp.) in the Front Ranges of Banff National Park, but little is known about the effect of fire or other factors on fruit production. I assessed the association between fruit production (fruits m-2 of buffaloberry shrub) and environmental factors at 76 plots in Banff National Park and found a negative association with forest canopy cover. Forest canopy cover accounted for 70% of the variation in fruit production. Fruit production also decreased from NNE- to SSW- facing slopes, but this effect was small compared to the decrease associated with increasing forest canopy cover. Forty plots were re-established at or near the original 76 sites the following year. A strong negative association between fruit production and forest canopy cover again occurred, but there was no significant association between fruit production and slope aspect. Fruit production began 5 years after fire in 2 recent burns. In sites burned 23 and 25 years ago, fruit production was comparable to the recorded in older-aged burns, and already was low at one site in the 25-year-old burn where regenerating lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) canopy cover measured 72%. Many sites in older burns, however, have remained forest-free due to xeric site conditions, chinook wind, avalanching, or other factors. These open sites were associated with abundant fruit. Managers must consider the prolonged effects of fire when assessing relation ships among fire, forest canopy cover, and buffaloberry fruit production. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/4002293
Additional Information
Hamer, D. (1996). Buffaloberry [Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt.] fruit production in fire-successional bear feeding sites. Journal of Range Management, 49(6), 520-529.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/644214
Journal Volume
49
Journal Number
6
Journal Pages
520-529
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
Shepherdia
fruits
natural regeneration
habitats
ecological succession
fires
fire effects
Alberta
Ursus arctos
Ursus americanus
slope
prescribed burning
soil water content
shrubs
wildlife management
canopy
plant height
altitude