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D55 10.5885/45621CE-A4EC705BAF1F4BF7 Published
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Above-ground biomass of graminoid plants inside and outside goose grazing exclosures installed on the wetlands of Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada

Gilles Gauthier, Marie-Christine Cadieux
Département de biologie & Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval

Abstract

Primary production is at the base of all terrestrial food webs. In terrestrial ecosystem, primary production is measured by sampling the vegetation. We are interested in two aspects of the vegetation. First, standing crop, which can be defined as the amount of live aboveground biomass present at a given time (usually at the peak of the growing season). Second, annual primary production, which is the amount of vegetation biomass that has been produced over the course of a growing season.

We sample the production of graminoid plants (sedges and grasses) and measure the impact of goose grazing in wetlands at three sites on Bylot Island: Qarlikturvik Valley (since 1990), Camp 2 (since 1998) and Pointe Dufour (1998 to 2008). At each site, 12 new exclosures (1 m × 1 m × 50 cm high) made of chicken wire are installed in late June. At the end of the growing season in mid-August, we sample plant biomass by removing 20 × 20 cm plots in ungrazed and grazed areas (i.e. inside and outside exclosures). All live above-ground biomass is cut, sorted out by species and weighed dry.

This archive contains the aboveground grazed and ungrazed biomass data of all exclosures sampled in the wetlands of Bylot Island since 1990 according to the most abundant functional plant species: Eriophorum, grasses and Carex. The dataset also included the GPS locations of sampling sites.

Data citation

Gauthier, G., Cadieux, M.-C. 2020. Above-ground biomass of graminoid plants inside and outside goose grazing exclosures installed on the wetlands of Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada, v. 1.0. Nordicana D55, doi: 10.5885/45621CE-A4EC705BAF1F4BF7.

Location map

Key references

  • Gauthier, G., J. Bêty, M.C. Cadieux, P. Legagneux, M. Doiron, C. Chevallier, S. Lai, A. Tarroux & D. Berteaux, 2013. Long-term monitoring at multiple trophic levels suggests heterogeneity in responses to climate change in the Canadian Arctic tundra. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B – Biological Sciences, 368:20120482
    DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0482
  • Legagneux, P., G. Gauthier, D. Berteaux, J. Bêty, M.C. Cadieux, F. Bilodeau, E. Bolduc, L. McKinnon, A. Tarroux, J.-F. Therrien, L. Morissette, & C.J. Krebs, 2012. Disentangling trophic relationships in a high arctic tundra ecosystem through food web modeling. Ecology, 93:1707-1716
    DOI: 10.1890/11-1973.1
  • Gauthier, G., D. Berteaux, J. Bêty, A. Tarroux, J.F. Therrien, L. McKinnon, P. Legagneux & M.C. Cadieux, 2011. The tundra food web of Bylot Island in a changing climate and the role of exchanges between ecosystems. Ecoscience, 18:223-235
    DOI: 10.2980/18-3-3453
  • Valéry, L., M.C. Cadieux & G. Gauthier, 2010. Spatial heterogeneity of primary production as both cause and consequence of foraging patterns of an expanding Greater Snow Goose colony. Ecoscience, 17:9-19
    DOI: 10.2980/17-1-3279
  • Gauthier, G., J.F. Giroux & L. Rochefort, 2006. The impact of goose grazing on arctic and temperate wetlands. Acta Zoologica Sinica, 52(supplement):108-111
  • Gauthier, G., J. Bêty, J.F. Giroux, & L. Rochefort, 2004. Trophic interactions in a High Arctic Snow Goose colony. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 44:119-129
    DOI: 10.1093/icb/44.2.119
  • Lepage, D., G. Gauthier & A. Reed, 1998. Seasonal variation in growth of greater snow goose goslings: the role of food supply. Oecologia, 114:226-235
    DOI: 10.1007/s004420050440
  • Gauthier, G., L. Rochefort & A. Reed, 1996. The exploitation of wetland ecosystems by herbivores on Bylot Island. Geoscience Canada, 23:253-259
  • Gauthier, G., R.J. Hughes, A. Reed, J. Beaulieu & L. Rochefort, 1995. Effect of grazing by greater snow geese on the production of graminoids at an arctic site (Bylot Island, NWT, Canada). Journal of Ecology, 83:653-664
    DOI: 10.2307/2261633

Contributors

Rochefort, Line Université Laval Valéry, Loïc Université Laval

Acknowledgements

We thank Polar Knowledge Canada for funding the publication of this archive.

Version history

You can request an older version by contacting nordicana@cen.ulaval.ca

Measurement sites

Site Latitude Longitude Altitude (m)
Vallée Qarlikturvik, Île Bylot, Nunavut / Qarlikturvik Valley, Bylot Island, Nunavut 73.15625 -79.97187 20 More info
Camp 2, Île Bylot, Nunavut / Camp 2, Bylot Island, Nunavut 72.88851 -79.90606 40 More info
Pointe Dufour, Île Bylot, Nunavut / Pointe Dufour, Bylot Island, Nunavut 72.78381 -79.53589 55 More info

Supplementary material

Download

Data available for download are in ZIP format. Please properly cite the data when using it.

Aboveground biomass - Qarlikturvik Valley Get file
File: ds_000591140.zip Size: 30 KB
Sites
Vallée Qarlikturvik, Île Bylot, Nunavut / Qarlikturvik Valley, Bylot Island, Nunavut
Data
Aboveground biomass 08/1990 – 08/2019
Aboveground biomass - Pointe Dufour Get file
File: ds_000591146.zip Size: 7.62 KB
Sites
Pointe Dufour, Île Bylot, Nunavut / Pointe Dufour, Bylot Island, Nunavut
Data
Aboveground biomass 08/1998 – 08/2019
Aboveground biomass - Camp 2 Get file
File: ds_000591150.zip Size: 30.11 KB
Sites
Camp 2, Île Bylot, Nunavut / Camp 2, Bylot Island, Nunavut
Data
Aboveground biomass 08/1998 – 08/2019