Recovering Riparian Plant Communities with Wolves in Northern Yellowstone, U.S.A.

Abstract

Gray wolves (Canis lupus) were extirpated from Yellowstone National Park in the 1920s. The ensuing seven decades marked a period when wild ungulates, principally Elk (Cervus elaphus), extensively used woody browse species in the upper Gallatin and northern winter ranges, thus limiting the capability of establishing plants to grow more than 100 cm in height. Following the reintroduction of wolves in the mid-1990s, we evaluated patterns of woody browse species recovery within riparian areas of these winter ranges. Measurements indicated that cottonwood (Populus spp.) recruitment (growth of seedlings/sprouts into tall saplings and trees) was occurring for the first time in several decades. A spatially patchy increase in the heights of young willow (Salix sp.) and cottonwood in the upper Gallatin and northern winter ranges, respectively, was also found within riparian transects comprising nearly 20 km in total length. Within some transects, heights of woody species have begun to exceed 200 cm (the approximate upper browse level of Elk). Results are consistent with the reestablishment of a tri-level trophic cascade involving wolves, ungulates, and riparian vegetation. We additionally present conceptual models of vegetation recovery, illustrating differences in plant height responses to behaviorally and density-mediated trophic cascades. Northern Yellowstone’s “experiment in time,” whereby wolves were removed and then reintroduced, provides new insights regarding how top predators can influence the structure and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Restoration ecologists and policymakers should consider the potential benefits of large predators as an option for helping restore degraded ecosystems.