Augustine and Frank examined soil cores inside and outside of 36-year old exclosures in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, at finer (< 10 cm) and larger (5-30 m) spatial scales. While total soil carbon and total nitrogen did not vary significantly, the authors estimate that only 2.5% of the area sampled had recently been treated with urine. On a scale of <10 cm, soil nitrogen and mineralization potential were significantly more heterogeneous in the grazed grassland than in the exclosures. Augustine and Frank suggest that herbivory impact on plant diversity and turnover contributes to heterogeneity more than dung or urine.
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