Tieszen, L.L. 1990. Community Change at Wind Cave National Park. 26 p.

Abstract

This project continued our analysis of seasonal an annual production patterns in the major plant communities at WCNP in an attempt to describe the seasonal dynamics of vegetation selectoin by the major herbivores. We extended these stable isotopic analyses to relate promary production to isotopic signals in soil organic matter (SOM). The signal in C4 grasses should distinguish grasslands from C3 forests. Thus, since SOM turns over slowly, these analysis should allow us to determine the long-term stability of forest and grassland communities and document late Holocene distribution patterns.