Exact growth and increased nitrogen compensation by the Arctic Sedge Carexaquatilis var. stans after simulated grazing

We investigated the effect of clipping on a natural stand of Carer aquatili s var. stans in Sverdrup Pass (79 degrees N), Ellesmere Island. We clipped plants up to four times each growing season for 4 yr to a height of 1.5 cm above the moss canopy to simulate natural grazing. Cumulative biomass produ ction above 1.5 cm showed exact compensation of lost tissue after clipping and cumulative nitrogen accumulation above 1.5 cm increased significantly i n the frequently clipped pints. The concentration of nitrogen in rhizomes d id not decrease in heavily clipped plots, even at the end of four seasons o f clipping. Nitrogen losses from plants as a result of clipping were appare ntly overcompensated by increased uptake of nitrogen. We concluded that the plants had the capacity to compensate for the loss of clipped tissue by pr oducing new growth.