herbivore exclosure experiment (Plantae)

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Method synopsis

Factorial experiment using wire mesh and chicken wire fencing to exclude mammalian herbivores (ungulates and gophers) from transplanted alpine plants across elevational gradients. Plants monitored for damage, growth, and reproduction.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 3 papers using this protocol.

Procedure as described in the canonical source

Steps below were extracted from the paper that introduces this protocol — Mammalian herbivores restrict the altitudinal range limits of alpine plants (2021), Ecology Letters. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Greenhouse plant cultivation
   Plants were reared in greenhouse prior to transplantation to the field
   Quantities: Details in Supporting Information MethodsDuration: Prior to field seasonConditions: Greenhouse conditions
   Equipment: greenhouse facility
2. Establish experimental plots
   Used 2×2 factorial design to allow/exclude aboveground ungulates and allow/exclude belowground gophers using fencing. Replicated this across core, limit and novel habitats. At each site, marked plots 130×30 m and randomly planted one individual of each species per plot into equilateral triangle at 15 cm spacing between plants.
   Quantities: 3 sites × 4 treatments × 3 species, 15 cm spacing between plants, plots 130×30 mDuration: Set-up occurred 20 June to 20 July 2016Conditions: Field conditions during summer growing season
   Equipment: wire mesh, 40×40 cm fences, 20-gauge chicken wire
3. Install herbivore exclusures
   Gophers excluded by inserting wire mesh ~20 cm into ground around plot perimeter. Ungulates excluded using 40×40 cm fences of 20-gauge chicken wire that were 30 cm tall (mean plant height across species was 8.8 cm).
   Quantities: Wire mesh 20 cm deep, fences 40×40 cm, 30 cm tall During experimental setup

Typical Equipment

• wire mesh
• 20-gauge chicken wire
• analytical balance
• drying oven

Output Measurements

• herbivory damage percentage
• plant biomass
• tiller number
• inflorescence number
• survival

Papers Using This Protocol (3)

Species Studied With This Protocol