|
|
The Kluane forest is unusual in that it is less productive than other boreal forests because it lies in a rain-shadow zone in the Yukon Territory. Densities of the boreal red-backed vole Clethrionomys rutilus are known to be food-limited in the Kluane region, and its food sources, mostly plants, could be rainfall-limited. Above-average rainfall in the Kluane region could reduce the summer water deficit, which would in turn enhance primary production and reduce food limitation in voles, ultimately leading to a population outbreak. We experimentally tested these two predictions by irrigating three sites in the boreal forest from 1995 to 1999, and concurrently comparing numbers of voles and availability of their potential...
|
The Kluane forest is unusual in that it is less productive than other boreal forests because it lies in a rain-shadow zone in the Yukon Territory. Densities of the boreal red-backed vole Clethrionomys rutilus are known to be food-limited in the Kluane region, and its food sources, mostly plants, could be rainfall-limited. Above-average rainfall in the Kluane region could reduce the summer water deficit, which would in turn enhance primary production and reduce food limitation in voles, ultimately leading to a population outbreak. We experimentally tested these two predictions by irrigating three sites in the boreal forest from 1995 to 1999, and concurrently comparing numbers of voles and availability of their potential...
|
Epigeous mushroom production in the boreal forest ecosystem varies dramatically from year to year. We tested the hypothesis that the aboveground production of epigeous mushrooms in the Kluane region, Yukon, could be predicted by summer rainfall. There is a single crop in this part of the boreal zone with maximum production during the first 2 weeks of August. We measured standing crops from 1993 to 2007 at 13 areas along 210 km of the Alaska Highway and Haines Road in the southwestern Yukon. Aboveground mushroom crops averaged 24 kg/ha wet weight but varied from 0.0 to 117 kg/ha over the 15 years of study, with a coefficient of variation among years of 143%. Epigeous mushroom production could be predicted from June...
|
To test the response of the dry Kluane boreal forest ecosystem (Yukon, Canada) to increased rainfall as predicted from climate change scenarios I irrigated three 1.5 ha forest stands from 1995-1999, to double baseline summer rainfall levels. I tested if various biotic and abiotic components of this ecosystem would react to the reduction of the summer water deficit relative to three control stands. I predicted that in response to irrigation: (1) growth (or biomass) in some species of plants would increase, (2) red-backed voles would in turn increase in numbers with greater plant-food availability because they are food-limited herbivores, (3) mushroom biomass would increase, (4) decomposition would increase, and hence...
|
Epigeous mushroom production in the boreal forest ecosystem varies dramatically from year to year. We tested the hypothesis that the aboveground production of epigeous mushrooms in the Kluane region, Yukon, could be predicted by summer rainfall. There is a single crop in this part of the boreal zone with maximum production during the first 2 weeks of August. We measured standing crops from 1993 to 2007 at 13 areas along 210 km of the Alaska Highway and Haines Road in the southwestern Yukon. Aboveground mushroom crops averaged 24 kg/ha wet weight but varied from 0.0 to 117 kg/ha over the 15 years of study, with a coefficient of variation among years of 143%. Epigeous mushroom production could be predicted from June...
|
View more...
|
