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The wolves were re -introduced to Yellowstone in 1995, over 60 years after their elimination from the National Park. S | Credit: Photo by William Campbell/Sygma via Getty Images
Yellowstone wolves help a new generation of young trees grow tall and join the forest canopy – the first new generation of such trees in the northern range of Yellowstone in 80 years.
Gray wolves (Kanis Lupus)) had disappeared from Yellowstone National park until 1930 after extensive habitat loss, human and government hunting programs. Without these top predators populations of moose (Cervus Canadensis) became unlimited. In their peak population, approximately 18,000 mos varied in the park, fucking on herbs and shrubs, as well as leaves, twigs and bark of trees like aspen (S)Popul). This stopped the saplings from establishing, and studies in the 1990s did not find saplings as aspen.
“You had older trees and then nothing on the bottom” Luke PainterAn ecologist at Oregon State University and a leading author of the new study, told Live Science.
But when the wolves were re -introduced in 1995, the picture began to change. As wolves numbers have grown, the population of moose in the park has dropped sharply and now it reaches about 2000.
In the new study published on Tuesday (July 22) in the magazine Forest Ecology and ManagementThe artist and his colleagues examined aspen stands – specific areas of the forest where these trees grow.
Related: The re-introduction of wolves in Yellowstone helped the entire ecosystem to flourish, a 20-year exploration of the discoveries
The team returned to Three areas tested in 2012 To examine changes in Aspen numbers for a sapling. Of the 87 aspen surveys, one -third has a large number of high -up saplings with Aspen, indicating that the trees are healthy and grow. Another third of the stands had spots of tall saplings.
“We see a significant new growth of the young Aspen and this is the first time we found it in our plots,” Painter said. These are young aspen with a trunk, bigge than 2 inches (5 centimeters) in the diameter of the height of the chest -which have not been seen there since the 1940s, he added.
“This does not mean that they will not kill or die of something, but this is a pretty good indication that we are getting new trees,” Painter noted. “As they get bigger, they become more resistant.”
Such trees are old enough to spread, or by sending new shoots from their roots at a long distance from the main tree, or through seed production, he said.
Researchers found high aspathian saplings in two of the sites surveyed. | Credit: A photo provided by Luke Painter, Osu College of Agricultural Sciences.
However, as the shivering Aspen of Yellowstone is restored, they are still not out of the forest. The moose population has decreased but bison (Bison Bison) The number has increased in some areas in recent years.
Bison are much more difficult to download wolvesThe aforementioned artist, so the increasing number of bison can be outlined as a new restriction on aspen in some areas.
The artist said the difference in the restoration of Aspen shows the effects of the re -introduction of a large predator to the top of the food chain, not the changes in the overall climate, for example.
The re -appearance of Aspen has widespread effects, he told Live Science. “Aspen are a key type of biodiversity. The shed is more open than in coniferous trees and get filtering light that creates a habitat that maintains a lot of variety of plants.”
It means impetus to food shrubs, insects and birds, as well as species like beetles because Trees are a preferred material for food and construction for semi-water rodentsAlong with willows and cotton trees that grow near water in the region.
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There are also hints that the number of bears and cougars in the region has increased since the introduction of wolves, Painter said, but it is not clear why.
“The document shows the important environmental benefits arising from the recovery of wolves in Yellowstone National Park,” Dominic SpracklenProfessor of Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions at the University of Leeds, UK, who studied potential Impact of re -introduction of wolves in ScotlandHe told Live Science.
“Ecosystems that lack large carnivores are often increasingly even,” Spracklen said. “While the re-introduction of carnivores gives rise to important challenges surrounding the joint cohabitation of the man-Wildlife, this work emphasizes the significant environmental benefits that such efforts can bring.”