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Muskoxen Modify Plant Abundance, Phenology, and Nitrogen Dynamics in a High Arctic Fen

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Abstract

Herbivores are key drivers of vegetation dynamics in most ecosystems. However, the effect of high arctic herbivores on vegetation dynamics throughout a growing season is not well understood. In this study, we examine the impacts of a large dominant herbivore in the tundra ecosystem, the muskox, Ovibos moschatus, using exclosures established in a fen in high Arctic Greenland. Using weekly sampling throughout the growing season, we quantified the effects of muskox exclusion on aboveground plant biomass and on concentrations and pools of carbon and nitrogen, and explored the timing of peak biomass and nutrient pools. Excluding muskoxen profoundly changed plant abundances and dynamics of the fen, with more than a doubling of aboveground plant biomass and carbon and nitrogen pool sizes. Specifically, large increases in mosses and litter were observed, while graminoid biomass did not change significantly with exclusion of muskoxen. Excluding muskoxen advanced the peak of plant biomass, but also led to a more rapid decline, resulting in an earlier and shorter period of maximal plant biomass inside the exclosures. The largest impact of muskoxen on the arctic fen ecosystem seems to be through their trampling effects on the moss layer, which likely mediated most of the observed changes. This study demonstrates how quickly an ecosystem may respond to changes in the abundance of large herbivores and highlights their pivotal role in modifying vegetation dynamics and nutrient cycling in tundra ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

Aarhus University is thanked for providing access to the Zackenberg Research Station. We are grateful for the financial support from 15. Juni Fonden, Arctic Research Centre at Aarhus University, and the Danish National Research Foundation for supporting CENPERM (DNRF 100). Special thanks are due to Lars Holst Hansen, Jannik Hansen, and Christian Bay for their assistance in the field, and to Gosha Sylvester for assistance in the laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arctic Research Centre, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Jesper Bruun Mosbacher, Håvard Hjermstad-Sollerud & Niels Martin Schmidt

  2. Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

    Anders Michelsen

  3. Center for Permafrost, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Anders Michelsen

  4. Copenhagen Zoo, Roskildevej 38, 2000, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Mikkel Stelvig

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  1. Jesper Bruun Mosbacher
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  2. Anders Michelsen
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Correspondence to Jesper Bruun Mosbacher.

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JBM, AM, MS and NMS conceived the idea of the manuscript. JBM, HHS and NMS conducted the fieldwork. JBM and AM conducted the laboratory work. JBM conducted the data analysis. All authors worked and contributed to writing of the manuscript.

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Mosbacher, J.B., Michelsen, A., Stelvig, M. et al. Muskoxen Modify Plant Abundance, Phenology, and Nitrogen Dynamics in a High Arctic Fen. Ecosystems 22, 1095–1107 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0323-4

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