In the absence of wolves, what happens to the willow and aspen stands in the riparian zones?

Answer

They suffer from excessive browsing due to ballooning elk populations

When wolves vanish, the unchecked elk population leads to excessive browsing, which stunts tree growth and eliminates the habitat structure supported by those specific plants.

In the absence of wolves, what happens to the willow and aspen stands in the riparian zones?
populationEcologyPredatorregulationprey