Synthesizing the effects of large, wild herbivore exclusion on ecosystem function

1. Wild large herbivores are declining worldwide. Despite extensive use of exclosure experiments to investigate herbivore impacts, there is little consensus on the effects of wild large herbivores on ecosystem function. 2. Of the ecosystem functions likely impacted, we reviewed the five most-studied in exclosure experiments: ecosystem resilience/resistance to disturbance, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling, plant regeneration, and primary productivity. 3. Experimental data on large wild herbivores’ effects on ecosystem functions were predominately derived from temperate grasslands (50% grasslands, 75% temperate zones), and experiments that may not be of adequate size (median size 400m2 despite excluding all experiments below 25m2) or duration (median duration 6 years) to capture ecosystem-scale responses to these low-density and wide-ranging taxa. 4. Wild herbivore removal frequently impacted ecosystem functions; for example, net carbon uptake increased by three times in some instances. H...