View article

At high population size, migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are regulated by forage abundance in their summer range. Climate warming likely affects forage availability by increasing productivity and advancing phenology of vegetation. Our objective was to investigate the combined effects of browsing and climate warming on the availability of dwarf birch (Betula glandulosa). We simulated direct (warming, with open-top chambers) and indirect (increased nutrient cycling) effects of climate warming in interaction with simulated browsing (leaf stripping) from 2009 to 2013 in Nunavik, Canada. We measured the effect of treatments on dwarf birch biomass and phenology. Moderate and heavy browsing reduced the estimated biomass of birch leaves by 14% and 34%, respectively. Fertilization did not increase the biomass of birch leaves, but increased the biomass of another forage, Poaceae. The warming …