The influence of floods and herbivory on cottonwood establishment and growth in Yellowstone National Park
Abstract
Herbivory by ungulates can shape the structure and function of riparian forests. However, our understanding of the interactions between herbivores and cottonwoods (Populus spp.) is largely derived from studies of domestic livestock grazing and may not reflect free ranging herds of wild ungulates. In this study, we quantified the influence of stream hydrologic regime and herbivory by wild ungulates on cottonwood establishment and growth along three rivers in Yellowstone National Park's northern range. Approximately 1.36 of the existing 1.37 million cottonwoods representing approximately 66% of the cottonwood stand area in Yellowstone's northern range was established between 1995 and 2008 by the largest flood sequence in recorded history. Coincidentally, the flood sequence began in the years immediately following wolf (Canis lupus) reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park. The flows caused large‐scale channel changes and provided suitable habitat for cottonwood seedling establishment and survival. Over 92% of the cottonwoods occurred along the Lamar River, and recruitment along this river appears to follow infrequent large peak flows. Soda Butte Creek and the Gardner River cottonwoods exhibited nearly annual recruitment. The resulting cottonwood biomass from the flooding events has exceeded herbivore demand. Even at relatively low consumption rates, bison are able to remove a significant proportion of total cottonwood production in the study areas limiting plant height and forage available to wintering elk. We conclude that the large cottonwood recruitment event that began in the late 1990s was due to a rare series of large snowmelt‐driven floods.
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Cites
Influence of harvest, climate and wolf predation on Yellowstone elk, 1961-2004
Vucetich, J. A., Smith, D. W., & Stahler, D. R. (2005) · Oikos · doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.14180.x · Cited by 222 · see citing works
HYDROLOGIC REGIME AND HERBIVORY STABILIZE AN ALTERNATIVE STATE IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Wolf, E. C., Cooper, D. J., & Hobbs, N. T. (2007) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1890/06-2042.1 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Self-citationCOTTONWOODS, ELK, AND WOLVES IN THE LAMAR VALLEY OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Beschta, R. L. (2003) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1890/02-5175 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Stream hydrology limits recovery of riparian ecosystems after wolf reintroduction
Marshall, K. N., Hobbs, N. T., & Cooper, D. J. (2013) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2977 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Self-citationRecovering Riparian Plant Communities with Wolves in Northern Yellowstone, U.S.A.
Beschta, R. L., & Ripple, W. J. (2008) · Restoration Ecology · doi:10.1111/j.1526-100x.2008.00450.x · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Effects of bison on willow and cottonwood in northern Yellowstone National Park
Painter, L. E., & Ripple, W. J. (2012) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.10.010 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Beschta, R. L., & Ripple, W. J. (2007) · Western North American Naturalist · doi:10.3398/1527-0904(2007)67[613:iwhany]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 33 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The introduction of wolves is thought to have triggered an increase in riparian willow growth through a behaviorally mediated trophic cascade (Beschta, 2003; Beschta & Ripple, 2007, 2010), and riparian vegetation recovery patterns are driven by a number of factors (Marshall, Cooper, & Hobbs, 2014).”
BackgroundThe History and Current Status and Distribution of Beavers in Yellowstone National Park
Smith, D. W., & Tyers, D. B. (2012) · Northwest Science · doi:10.3955/046.086.0404 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
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González, E., Martínez-fernández, V., Shafroth, P., Sher, A., Henry, A., Garófano‐Gómez, V., & Corenblit, D. (2018) · Journal of Environmental Management · doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.04.069 · Cited by 71
Wolves for Yellowstone: dynamics in time and space
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A 184-year record of river meander migration from tree rings, aerial imagery, and cross sections
Schook, D., Rathburn, S., Friedman, J., & Wolf, J. M. (2017) · doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.06.001 · Cited by 58
“pression has occurred in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park, where extreme floods with high cottonwood recruitment are required for seedlings to escape bison and elk herbivory (Rose and Cooper, 2016).”
BackgroundResultHobbs, N. T., Johnston, D. B., Marshall, K. N., Wolf, E. C., & Cooper, D. J. (2024) · Ecological Monographs · doi:10.1002/ecm.1598 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Self-citationBison limit ecosystem recovery in northern Yellowstone
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Bison alter the northern Yellowstone ecosystem by breaking aspen saplings
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Bite by Bite: How Ungulate Browsing Shapes North America’s Forest Future
Hardalau, D., Stefanescu, V., Bakševičius, M., Manton, M., Ruffner, C. M., Brazaitis, G., Ionescu, G., & Ionescu, O. M. (2025) · Forests · doi:10.3390/f16071079 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Even where spring floods create fresh germination sites, subsequent herbivory eliminates most seedlings before they reach 1 m, decoupling fluvial disturbance from forest recovery [99].”
Effects of Elk and Bison Herbivory on Narrowleaf Cottonwood
Zeigenfuss, L., & Schoenecker, K. (2021) · Western North American Naturalist · doi:10.3398/064.081.0109 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Rose, J. R., & Cooper, D. J.
- Affiliations
- Colorado State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cooper, David J.
- Venue
- Ecohydrology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-08-29
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 1936-0584 (ISSN-L)
- 1936-0592
- OpenAlex
- W2465678566
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 0.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ecohydrology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Ecology and biodiversity studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Keywords
- cottonwood, poplar, herbivory, ungulates, bison, elk, floods, riparian forest, seedling recruitment, plant growth, wolf reintroduction, Yellowstone National Park, snowmelt floods, channel change
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