Interactions between soil biota and the effects on geomorphological features

Zaitlin, Beryl; Hayashi, Masaki

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.07.029

Cited by 30 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 129 publications

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“…However, there is considerable controversy regarding the role that biota may play in the formation of these mounds and the mechanistic pathways by which the mounds take form. For example, different investigators have variably attributed Mima mounds in North America to earth‐moving activities of fossorial mammals (Cox and Allen, ; Howath and Johnson, ), spatially variable vegetation and associated differences in either sediment deposition or soil erosion (Barnes, ; Siefert et al ., ), as well as non‐biotic factors (briefly listed in Siefert et al ., ; Zaitlin and Hayashi, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of aeolian sediment accretion in the formation of heuweltjie earth mounds, western South Africa

McAuliffe

Hoffman

McFadden

et al. 2014

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The action of organisms in shaping landforms is increasingly recognized; the field of biogeomorphology and the conceptual framework of ecosystem engineering have arisen in response to the need for integrated studies of the interactions between biotic and abiotic components of landscapes. Pathways by which organisms influence landscape development may be complex. For example, primary change initiated by one biotic element may initiate a cascade of other changes that eventually produce a significant landscape modification. Mound-like landforms in North America and southern Africa are widely cited examples of biogenic structures, yet there is considerable controversy regarding the processes responsible for their formation. Heuweltjies (Afrikaans for little hills) are circular mounds ranging from 10-30 m diameter and 0.5-2 m height and are widespread in western South Africa. Colonies of the termite (Microhodotermes viator) are typically associated with heuweltjies and some investigators have attributed heuweltjie formation to the direct action of termites in redistributing earthen materials. However, rather than being directly responsible in this way, termites simply create nutrient-rich islands, which support denser vegetation, thereby inducing the localized accretion of aeolian sediments and upward growth of mounds. Contrasting soil features in heuweltjies in one locale indicate these processes have occurred throughout the late Quaternary. Geographic variation in sizes of mounds is explained in part by the local availability of sediments that can be mobilized and redistributed by the wind. Recognition of the operation of aeolian processes in the formation of heuweltjies has important implications for conservation. Any land use that diminishes the sediment-trapping effect of vegetation on heuweltjies truncates the very process by which new aeolian materials can accrue and may promote irreversible erosion and landscape degradation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of aeolian sediment accretion in the formation of heuweltjie earth mounds, western South Africa

McAuliffe

Hoffman

McFadden

et al. 2014

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…Zaitlin et al [ 24 ] could also not confirm clear effects of burrowing activity on infiltration rates in a haplic chernozem within the prairie pothole region in Canada. Zaitlin and Hayashi [ 60 ] conclude that burrowing mammals generally increase the patchiness of an environment. Overall, this suggests that the soil memory for physical bioturbation effects is spatially and temporally too diverse as to expect statistically significant results from a number of point samples.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Short Term Bioturbation by Common Voles on Biogeochemical Soil Variables

et al. 2015

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Bioturbation contributes to soil formation and ecosystem functioning. With respect to the active transport of matter by voles, bioturbation may be considered as a very dynamic process among those shaping soil formation and biogeochemistry. The present study aimed at characterizing and quantifying the effects of bioturbation by voles on soil water relations and carbon and nitrogen stocks. Bioturbation effects were examined based on a field set up in a luvic arenosol comprising of eight 50 × 50 m enclosures with greatly different numbers of common vole (Microtus arvalis L., ca. 35–150 individuals ha–1 mth–1). Eleven key soil variables were analyzed: bulk density, infiltration rate, saturated hydraulic conductivity, water holding capacity, contents of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N), CO2 emission potential, C/N ratio, the stable isotopic signatures of 13C and 15N, and pH. The highest vole densities were hypothesized to cause significant changes in some variables within 21 months. Results showed that land history had still a major influence, as eight key variables displayed an additional or sole influence of topography. However, the δ15N at depths of 10–20 and 20–30 cm decreased and increased with increasing vole numbers, respectively. Also the CO2 emission potential from soil collected at a depth of 15–30 cm decreased and the C/N ratio at 5–10 cm depth narrowed with increasing vole numbers. These variables indicated the first influence of voles on the respective mineralization processes in some soil layers. Tendencies of vole activity homogenizing SOC and N contents across layers were not significant. The results of the other seven key variables did not confirm significant effects of voles. Thus overall, we found mainly a first response of variables that are indicative for changes in biogeochemical dynamics but not yet of those representing changes in pools.

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“…A large proportion of research on zoogeomorphology and biopedoturbation has centred on understanding the geomorphic and biogeochemical work of burrowing and soil foraging animals (Whitesides and Butler, ; Coombes, ; Coggan et al ., , for reviews). Although these animals conduct their activities at the geomorphological micro‐scale, the cumulative effect of colonies or populations can create distinctive landscapes (Zaitlin and Hayashi, ; Coombes and Viles, ). The micro‐landforms produced by burrowing and soil foraging activities have a patchy distribution that creates gradients of local environmental change (Zaitlin and Hayashi, ), can affect the flow paths of moisture and other resources (Eldridge et al ., ), and can create refugia for plant germination (Whitesides and Butler, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although these animals conduct their activities at the geomorphological micro-scale, the cumulative effect of colonies or populations can create distinctive landscapes (Zaitlin and Hayashi, 2012;Coombes and Viles, 2015). The micro-landforms produced by burrowing and soil foraging activities have a patchy distribution that creates gradients of local environmental change (Zaitlin and Hayashi, 2012), can affect the flow paths of moisture and other resources (Eldridge et al, 2010), and can create refugia for plant germination (Whitesides and Butler, 2016). Through burial of vegetation by burrow spoil or casting material (Zaitlin and Hayashi, 2012), provision of foraging pits that provide conditions favouring enhanced litter decomposition (Travers and Eldridge, 2016), or selective transport and concentration of organic materials, burrowing and soil foraging animals can profoundly influence the structure and biogeochemistry of soil environments (Coggan et al, 2018), and thereby increase landscape-scale heterogeneity and biodiversity (Zaitlin and Hayashi, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem engineering by hummock‐building earthworms in seasonal wetlands of eastern South Africa: Insights into the mechanics of biomorphodynamic feedbacks in wetland ecosystems

Grenfell

Aalto

Grenfell

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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This paper resolves the origin of clay hummock micro‐topography in seasonal wetlands of the Drakensberg Foothills, providing a review and appraisal of previously‐suggested mechanisms of hummock formation in the context of new field and laboratory data. Field surveys revealed neo‐formation of clay hummocks in a river channel that had been abandoned in c.1984. Fresh earthworm castings were located atop hummocks protruding from inundated abandoned channel margins. Earthworm castings, and sediment cores taken in hummocks and adjacent hollows, were analysed for soil‐adsorbed carbon and nitrogen using an HCN analyser, and for 210Pb activity using alpha‐geochronology. 210Pb activity profiles suggest relative enrichment of the isotope in hummocks, and relative depletion in adjacent hollows. Earthworm castings are characterised by very high 210Pb activity, as well as high C and N contents. Hummocks have significantly higher C and N contents than adjacent hollows. Results suggest that it is the foraging activity of earthworms in litter‐rich seasonal wetland hollows, and repeated excretion of castings atop adjacent hummocks, that is responsible for the elemental enrichment observed. The paper presents a conceptual model of hummock formation in wetlands through interactions between hydrogeomorphology and earthworm activity, and illustrates a mechanism of biogeomorphic inheritance through which ordered patterns of preferential flow can emerge in ecosystems. Further implications of hummock formation and nodal accumulation of nutrients are considered in relation to wetland resilience and regulatory ecosystem service provision.© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Interactions between soil biota and the effects on geomorphological features

Cited by 30 publications

References 129 publications

Role of aeolian sediment accretion in the formation of heuweltjie earth mounds, western South Africa

Role of aeolian sediment accretion in the formation of heuweltjie earth mounds, western South Africa

Effects of Short Term Bioturbation by Common Voles on Biogeochemical Soil Variables

Ecosystem engineering by hummock‐building earthworms in seasonal wetlands of eastern South Africa: Insights into the mechanics of biomorphodynamic feedbacks in wetland ecosystems

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