Context-dependent effects of a reintroduced ungulate on soil properties are driven by soil texture, moisture, and herbivore activity.

Although there is considerable evidence that large mammalian herbivores influence ecosystem-level processes, studies have reported such widely varying results that generalizations have remained elusive. Here, we use an 18-year-old exclosure experiment-stratified across a landscape heterogeneous with respect to soil texture, moisture and herbivore activity-to understand the variable effects of tule elk (), a native reintroduced herbivore, on soil properties along the coast of northern California. Elk significantly increased soil bulk density and created a compacted layer at shallow soil depth, while decreasing infiltration rate and pH.