Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) habitat use in the Front Ranges of Banff National Park is described in terms of vegetation types and their successional status. The alpine zone was not important to foraging grizzly bears. Feeding in mature forest was recorded for only 1 major food, horsetails (Equisetum arvense), even though mature forest covered about one-third of the study area. Rather, grizzly bears fed for most foods in a variety of open and seral vegetation types in the subalpine zone. Factors limiting forest development included avalanching, cold air drainage, high water table, xeric site conditions (southerly exposure, well-drained soil, chinook wind) and, especially, wildfire. Of a 148 km2 mapped area, 59% was regeneration from 5 fires that burned between 1868 and 1936. Fire's role in creating many feeding areas was indicated by the presence of snags and deadfall. Moreover, a comparison of areas that appeared to differ only in time since the last fire suggested that wildfire has had a role in establishing other seemingly successionally mature open plant communities as well. Fire suppression has been effective since 1936; the study area currently is experiencing the longest fire-free interval recorded during the period ± 1580-1985. Successional trends suggest a loss of grizzly bear feeding habitat in the absence of recurring wildfire.
- Volume 7
- Issue
- Pages 179-186
- Publication Date 1 January 1987
- DOI 10.2307/3872624
- File Size 1.56 MB
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