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			HotScience last updated: 19 February 2003 W... Wardle, D. A.; Barker, G. M.; Yeates, G. W.; Bonner, K. I.; Ghani, A. 2001. Introduced browsing mammals in natural New Zealand forests: aboveground and belowground consequences. Ecological Monographs 71: 587–614. The effects of browsing mammals (deer and goats) on plant and soil microbial and invertebrate communities was assessed for each of 30 long term exclosure plots in forests located throughout New Zealand. While browse layer vegetation density and diver-sity was consistently adversely affected by herbivores, the soil biota showed varied responses, and only invertebrates with larger body sizes were consistently adversely affected. There were also several instances in which browsers affected decomposer diversity, key soil processes and soil carbon and nitrogen sequestration. Frequently below-ground effects of these mammals were more severe than we would predict based on the response of vegetation. Wardle, D. A.; Bonner, K. I.; Barker, G. M. 2002. Linkages between plant litter decomposition, litter quality, and vegetation responses to herbivores. Functional Ecology 16: 585–595. To predict possible effects of deer and goats on the decomposer subsystem, litter from several understorey plant species were collected from 28 forested locations throughout New Zealand. At each location exclosure plots were used to determine effects of browsing mammals on each plant species. Litters from those species which were reduced by browsers decomposed more rapidly, and had lower concentrations of phenolics, tannins, lignin and fibre than those promoted by browsers; litter N and P concentrations did not differ between these two types of plants. This suggests that browsing results in understorey domination by plant species that impair decomposer processes. Wells, A.; Duncan, R.P.; Stewart, G.H. 2001. Forest dynamics in Westland, New Zealand: the importance of large, infrequent earthquake-induced disturbance. Journal of Ecology 89: 1006-1018. A reconstruction of forest disturbance history in a Westland catchment over the last 700 years reveals that, during this period, the catchment was affected by four massive episodes of landslipping and flooding, with up to 50% of the forested area of the catchment destroyed in a single episode. These episodes dominate the disturbance regime and were triggered by earthquakes, the three largest (dated c. 1460, 1620 and 1717 AD) caused by the last three major movements of the Alpine Fault. Much of the present forest structure in Westland reflects the impact of these major earthquakes. Williams, J. A.; West, C.J. 2000. Environmental weeds in Australia and New Zealand: issues and approaches to management. Austral Ecology 25: 425-444. This keynote paper presented at the inaugural joint conference of NZES and ESA in Dunedin 1998 contains information on the current state of environmental weed management in Australia and New Zealand. It is the first paper in a special issue of Austral Ecology in which the papers and some posters presented in the symposium session are published.
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