In a three year study, Gauthier et al. studied the response of sedges and grasses on Bylot Island to summer grazing by greater snow geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica). Study sites were selected on Bylot Island and above-ground biomass and net above-ground primary production, in both grazed and ungrazed areas, was measured during all three years of the study. Peak above-ground dry biomass of ungrazed areas averaged 33 g m-2. Over the 3 years, it was estimated that geese consumed 65-113% of the cumulative NAPP of Eriophorum scheuchzeri, and 30-78% of the cumulative NAPP of Dupontia fisheri. Consumption of Dupontia, but not Eriophorum, was related to grazing intensity. During all 3 study years, the authors found that the overall net aboveground primary production (NAPP) in grazed areas was significantly lower that the overall NAPP of the ungrazed areas at the end of the summer. However, the nitrogen content was found to be higher in the grazed shoots compared to the ungrazed shoots, suggesting that, in grazed areas, geese have access to higher quality, but lower biomass food than in ungrazed areas.
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