This article explores the effect of herbivores on ecosystem nutrient and energy flow in a boreal regions, given the assumption that plant species differ in herbivore preference, nutrient uptake rates, and decomposition rates. This article also shows that if the consumer selects a plant species based on the chemical factors that simultaneously control both digestion and decomposition, then over a very wide range of consumer return of fecal material, the rates of energy and nutrient flow through the system are less than that of a system where the consumer is absent. Moreover, one of the plants becomes extinct at high rates of consumption and nutrient return in fecal material. Pastor and Cohen conclude that ecosystem models should, at minimum, consider more than one producer type with consumer preference.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.