Fitter reviews Westoby's (1989) comments about the selective effects that vertebrate herbivores may have on plants, using the detailed studies by Jefferies and co-workers at La Perouse Bay on Hudson Bay as a case study. Although Fitter agrees with much of what Westoby says, there is a fundamental omission from his analysis, which concentrates exclusively on aboveground processes. Yet this is a system in which at least 90% of the standing crop is below ground and in which probably 70-80% of net annual primary production is also belowground. Fitter believes that this is just one instance of a widespread phenomenon, which one might call the 'weather forecast syndrome'. Because above-ground phenomena are visible and relatively easy to study, they not only receive the most attention experimentally, but also tend to dominate theoretical discussions. In most natural terrestrial ecosystems, below-ground production is as great if not greater than above-ground production, and community processes are generally limited by nutrients. Ecologists might therefore profit from giving greater attention to underground phenomena.
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.