Quantifying Muskox Plant Biomass Removal and Spatial Relocation of Nitrogen in a High Arctic Tundra Ecosystem

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe muskox (Ovibos moschatus), a key species in the arctic tundra, is the only large-bodied herbivore in Northeast Greenland. Here, we quantify the biomass removal and fecal deposition by muskoxen during the snow-free period in the years 1996 to 2013 in the high arctic tundra ecosystem at Zackenberg, Northeast Greenland. We show that despite high densities, muskoxen removed only 0.17% and 0.04% of the available forage in graminoid-dominated areas and in Salix snowbeds (including Salix dominated heaths), respectively, during the main plant growing season (from mid-June to end of August). Into the autumn, the biomass removal increased to ∼4.6% and 0.19% in the graminoid-dominated areas and Salix snowbeds, respectively. Muskoxen forage mainly in the graminoid-dominated areas, but defecate primarily in Salix snowbeds, resulting in net nutrient transfers from the nitrogen-rich wet habitats to the nitrogen-poor, drier habitats, corresponding to an addition of 0.016 g m−2 of nitrogen in the Salix snowbeds per year. This nitrogen addition is of same magnitude as the dissolved inorganic nitrogen pool in similar arctic soils. Hence, while the quantitative impact of muskox biomass removal seems negligible, the nitrogen relocation may be important for the arctic vegetation and associated biota in the tundra ecosystem.