Annual Aboveground Production and Consumption by Large Mammalian Herbivores in the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park

Abstract

The principal objectives of this study are to measure aboveground net primary productivity and consumption by large mammalian herbivores in Yellowstone's northern range. The significance of such information is two-fold. Firstly, it will provide a "pulse rate" of ecosystem processes in an integral region of the Yellowstone Ecosystem and a comparison of rates of energy and nutrient flows with other ecosystems worldwide. This is of particular ecological interest, since such data for areas supporting large populations of free­ranging native herbivores are rare. Secondly, these data will provide a greater understanding of the effects of ungulate use on ecosystem function in Yellowstone, and thereby, an assessment of current park management of ungulate populations.