ES students studied moose browse and the impacts browse may have on spruce seedling.
Because they have no upper front teeth, one browsing method is to grip a branch and pull sideways to strip off all the leaves with their tough lips and tongue. Due to dense concentrations of nutritious young plants within reach of moose, logged and recently disturbed areas most attract moose browsing for food.
Moose habitat requirements vary with the season. In winter they prefer the cover of alpine shrub or riparian shrub communities, and willow (Salix spp.) browse. Dense, pure stands of S. Alaxensis And S. Planifolia are preferred, which are predominately found in the tall shrub and floodplain forest communities in riparian corridors. Other willows, birch, and lichen are used to a lesser extent. Willows remain an important food source through the spring, but animals also seek aquatic vegetation, sedges, and mineral licks. Moose generally move to open upland shrub thickets in the summer. Use of these areas peaks during the fall rut. Compared to other wildlife species, moose are relatively adaptable to habitat perturbations, and serai plant communities that develop after fires, floods, or other disturbance provide important forage. Population Estimates for moose in the study areas are not available. However, moose can be expected to be found in most riparian habitats.
In 1999 the ES class set out three 100 meter transects in mid April, just as snow was going, in the Marshal Creek clear-cuts and another three transects along lines paralleling the west shore of Marsh Lake, near the old Gunnar Nelson saw mill. We recorded the extent of moose browse along each transect as a means of determining moose use of the area.
We found the area near Marsh Lake received more moose browse, even though it was closeer to dwellings that the clear cuts.
Because they have no upper front teeth, one browsing method is to grip a branch and pull sideways to strip off all the leaves with their tough lips and tongue. Due to dense concentrations of nutritious young plants within reach of moose, logged and recently disturbed areas most attract moose browsing for food.
Moose habitat requirements vary with the season. In winter they prefer the cover of alpine shrub or riparian shrub communities, and willow (Salix spp.) browse. Dense, pure stands of S. Alaxensis And S. Planifolia are preferred, which are predominately found in the tall shrub and floodplain forest communities in riparian corridors. Other willows, birch, and lichen are used to a lesser extent. Willows remain an important food source through the spring, but animals also seek aquatic vegetation, sedges, and mineral licks. Moose generally move to open upland shrub thickets in the summer. Use of these areas peaks during the fall rut. Compared to other wildlife species, moose are relatively adaptable to habitat perturbations, and serai plant communities that develop after fires, floods, or other disturbance provide important forage. Population Estimates for moose in the study areas are not available. However, moose can be expected to be found in most riparian habitats.
In 1999 the ES class set out three 100 meter transects in mid April, just as snow was going, in the Marshal Creek clear-cuts and another three transects along lines paralleling the west shore of Marsh Lake, near the old Gunnar Nelson saw mill. We recorded the extent of moose browse along each transect as a means of determining moose use of the area.
We found the area near Marsh Lake received more moose browse, even though it was closeer to dwellings that the clear cuts.