Foliage and winter woody browse quality of an important Salix browse species: effects of presence of alder-derived nitrogen and winter browsing by Alaskan moose (Alces alces gigas)

Abstract

In this study, I examined the relationship between soil nitrogen and winter browsing by moose on the physical and chemical characteristics of Salix alaxensis; specifically stem production, leaf nutritional quality, and stem nutritional quality of tissues produced the following growing season. I measured stem biomass production the 2013 growing season and offtake during the 2013-2014 winter browsing season at 16 sites on the Tanana River floodplain near Fairbanks, Alaska. I revisited the sites the following summer and autumn to assess regrowth and to collect soil, foliage, and stem samples. Browsing intensity and total soil nitrogen were similar in sites with and without alder, a nitrogen-fixing shrub. Soil nitrogen and browsing intensity were not consistently related to changes in stem or leaf quality, although there were significant relationships in some subsets. Soil nitrogen and browsing intensity also did not have consistent relationships with stem regrowth the following growing season. These results indicate that S. alaxensis growing in this system are able to recover from a naturally broad range of browsing utilization, including very high levels of offtake, and continue to produce nutritious leaves and stems.