In the summer of 1987, caribou cows and calves (500-1000) became stranded on a small island in the Bathurst Inlet and grazed all of the vegetation on the island before eventually dying of malnutrition in the fall. Henry and Gunn measured vegetation composition and cover one growing season after the overgrazing in the low shrub tundra and tussock tundra plant communities on the island. The results showed that most of the vascular vegetation on the island had recovered considerably. The willows (Salix spp.) and graminoid species were vigorous, and no differences were found in biomass allocation of Salix lanata plants between the island and the mainland. However, almost all of the macrolichen biomass was eliminated on the island, and full recovery could take more than 20 years.
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