Herbivore diversity in its multiple forms (e.g. species richness, evenness, identity of dominant species, functional diversity), regulates the impacts of herbivores on plant communities and functioning of ecosystems. Herbivore species differ in their habitat preferences, food choices and feeding styles, leading to different impacts on ecosystem.
TExNet proposes a distributed tundra herbivore diversity experiment. By excluding different sizes of herbivores from different tundra habitats, we will investigate their impact on tundra vegetation and ecosystem functions.
Some examples of the research questions we will be able to address with TExNet are:
- What drives herbivore diversity at local site scale vs. across the tundra biome? Is herbivore diversity associated with vegetation biomass, nutrient content of vegetation or climate both locally and across tundra?
- What are short-term effects of exclusion of different sizes of herbivores on fast ecosystem processes, such as flower cover, nutrient content of vegetation, decomposition and soil microbial enzyme activities?
- What are medium-term effects of exclusion of different sizes of herbivores on temporal stability of plant community composition?
- What are the medium-term effects of exclusion of different sizes of herbivores on slow ecosystem processes, such as productivity and turnover rates of N and P in relation to their pools in soil?
