The objective of this study was to classify upland sites sampled from an area in and around Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada, into community types, and interpret the effects of fire and wild ungulate herbivory. The results using TWINSPAN support the hypothesis that topography, herbivory, and fire have combined to produce six community types. Despite a high degree of species overlap among sites, specific indicator species varied enough to differentiate among the six community types. Based on a forward regression, topography, ungulate use, and prescribed burning related closely to the first two canonical axes, accounting for 47.2 and 21.1% of the species-environment relation among sites, respectively. This information provided the basis for preliminary state and transition model of vegetation dynamics for these rangelands, which could be used to assist park managers in manipulating plant communities within the landscape using ungulate removal and prescribed burning programs.
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.