Influence of Herbivorous Mammals on an Old-Field Plant Community: Years 1-4 after Disturbance

Plant community composition and change was studied in the presence and absence of different mammalian herbivores over the first four years after a disturbance that returned the field to the seed bank/colonizing stage. Four types of exclosures allowed the differential control of herbivore accessibility: «control» plots allowed acccss to all mammals (i.e., deer, woodchucks, rabbits, and small rodents); «total exclosure» plots excluded all mammals; «large-gate» plots excluded deer but allowed access to woodchucks, rabbits and small rodents; and «small-gate» plots allowed access to onlysmall rodents. Results indicated that plant species richness and diversity/evenness were greater in small- and large-gate exclosures relative to controls or total exclosures (...)