A series of studies carried out on the coast of Hudson Bay, Canada, examining the grazing by Lesser Snow Geese (Anser caerulescens) have revealed some important considerations that should be taken into account when measuring net above-ground primary production (NAPP) of plant species grazed by geese in the arctic and sub-arctic. The process of goose grazing is more complex than the mechanical removal of vegetation. NAPP estimates of grazed vegetation must take the effects of nutrient input from goose droppings into account as well as the shortcomings of traditional exclosure methods. The latter does not account for the dynamic process of leaf turnover, which is rapid in Carex subspathacea, a major forage species for geese in the arctic.
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