with greater aboveground standing crop, reduced belowground standing crop, and reduced light penetration to the ground surface. Herbivore exclusion also modified N cycling through greater N content of live, aboveground plant tissue early in the growing season and of litter and belowground tissue late in the growing season. Herbivore exclusion also increased soil nitrate and total available N concentrations but did not alter total soil or plant N. Our results support the hypothesis that herbivores indirectly decelerate N cycling by decreasing the abundance of plant species with nitrogen-rich tissues. However, other factors, such as disturbance from fire, may mediate herbivore effects on long-term changes in N and C pools. Herbivores may therefore indirectly control productivity, N cycling, and succession by consuming nitrogen-fixing and woody plants that have strong effects on plant resources