Prescribed burning is frequently used to enhance regeneration of aspen. The effects of burning aspen on wild ungulates are poorly understood. We used free-ranging tame elk to assess diet composition and quality on a site containing a 40-ha aspen burn, pure unburned aspen, mixtures of aspen and conifers, and other habitats. Foraging preferences of elk among the habitats were also investigated. Overall, no dietary nutritional differences were found between burned and unburned aspen habitats. Diet composition by forage class varied somewhat, due primarily to an abundance of very palatable post-fire forbs on the burn. Time spent feeding was significantly different among habitats. The burn was substantially more attractive for foraging probably because preferred forages were consistently available and greater foraging efficiency was possible than in other habitats. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. 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
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.