Ecological Dynamics on Yellowstone's Northern Range

Ecological Dynamics on Yellowstone's Northern Range
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2002-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309083451

Ecological Dynamics on Yellowstone's Northern Range discusses the complex management challenges in Yellowstone National Park. Controversy over the National Park Service's approach of "natural regulation" has heightened in recent years because of changes in vegetation and other ecosystem components in Yellowstone's northern range. Natural regulation minimizes human impacts, including management intervention by the National Park Service, on the park ecosystem. Many have attributed these changes to increased size of elk and other ungulate herds. This report examines the evidence that increased ungulate populations are responsible for the changes in vegetation and that the changes represent a major and serious change in the Yellowstone ecosystem. According to the authors, any human intervention to protect species such as the aspen and those that depend on them should be prudently localized rather than ecosystem-wide. An ecosystem-wide approach, such as reducing ungulate populations, could be more disruptive. The report concludes that although dramatic ecological change does not appear to be imminent, approaches to dealing with potential human-caused changes in the ecosystem, including those related to climate change, should be considered now. The need for research and public education is also compelling.

Riparian and Wetland Plant Community Types of the Shoshone National Forest

Riparian and Wetland Plant Community Types of the Shoshone National Forest
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2001
Genre: Plant communities
ISBN:

This classification of riparian and wetland plant communities in the Shoshone National Forest was a cooperative project between the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD) of The Nature Conservancy and the Shoshone National Forest. This project identifies groups of plant species that commonly occur together in particular environmental settings, Each such group of species, or plant community type, is identified by the structure of the vegetation and by the species contributing the most canopy cover. The classification identifies physiognomic types based on the amounts of trees, tall shrubs, low shrubs, and herbaceous plants; and dominance types within each physiognomic type. The term "community type" is used in a broad sense to mean both seral or successional vegetation types and potential or climax vegetation types.

Peatlands on National Forests of the Northern Rocky Mountains

Peatlands on National Forests of the Northern Rocky Mountains
Author: Steve Chadde
Publisher:
Total Pages: 80
Release: 1998
Genre: Peatland animals
ISBN:

This overview of peatland ecology and conservation on National Forests in the Northern Rocky Mountains describes physical components, vegetation, vascular and nonvascular flora, and invertebrate fauna on peatlands. Detailed site descriptions for 58 peatlands in Idaho, Montana, and northeastern Washington are included.