Restoration of Native Plants Is Reduced by Rodent-Caused Soil Disturbance and Seed Removal

Gurney, Christopher; Prugh, Laura R.; Brashares, Justin S.

doi:10.1016/j.rama.2015.05.001

Cited by 24 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Additionally, burrows deteriorate slowly over many years (Hastings et al., ; Whitford & Kay, ) and were clearly identifiable in GKR exclosures after 6 years without burrow maintenance; thus, burrow engineering was little affected by the GKR foraging treatment. This is corroborated by prior results from this experiment showing that GKR presence did not influence effects of burrows on soil nutrients and other soil properties (Gurney et al., ). More recently, we have found that GKR burrowing effects on soil inorganic nitrogen, nitrogen mineralization and water content were unaffected by GKR presence, even after manipulating GKR presence for 8 years (J. G. Grinath, L. R. Prugh, J. S. Brashares, & K. N. Suding, unpubl.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…In addition, this engineering amplification of precipitation legacies may be desirable in some cases; for example, if the management goal is to increase forage production and quality for grazing (Hawbecker, ). Furthermore, our study focused on patches of grassland on and off burrows within the broader landscape, but GKR burrowing transforms entire landscapes (Bean et al., ; Grinnell, ; Gurney et al., ; Prugh & Brashares, ; Williams & Kilburn, ), the implications of which deserve further study. Because burrowing rodents can affect precipitation legacies in multiple ways through direct and indirect interactions, these species must be conservation priorities if we are to manage the lagged effects of precipitation on grassland communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to trophic effects on plants, GKR may alter precipitation legacies indirectly by engineering large burrow systems that restructure soils and affect plants (Gurney et al., ). At the Carrizo Plain, GKR are distributed nearly continuously over hundreds of hectares, and their burrowing has a landscape‐scale effect (Grinnell, ; Williams & Kilburn, ; photos in Bean, Stafford, Prugh, Butterfield, & Brashares, ; Gurney et al., ; Prugh & Brashares, ), as well as a patch‐scale effect. These highly territorial rodents live singly within regularly spaced burrows that are maintained by successive generations (Braun, ; Cooper & Randall, ) and can potentially last for decades (Whitford & Kay, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Locally, GKR burrows disturb patches of soil 7–10 m across, and there is a similar distance between burrows, resulting in the ground surface consisting of c . 50% burrow areas and 50% inter‐burrow areas across the plain (Gurney et al., ). While burrow‐driven changes in hydrology may affect soil properties over the landscape, at the patch scale kangaroo rat burrows have soils with lower water content and higher nutrient concentrations than areas between burrows (Greene & Reynard, ; Gurney et al., ; Moorhead, Fisher, & Whitford, ; Mun & Whitford, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Animals alter precipitation legacies: Trophic and ecosystem engineering effects on plant community temporal dynamics

et al. 2018

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Multiyear precipitation “legacies” can have stronger effects on plant community composition than rainfall in the current growing season, but variation in the magnitude of these effects is not fully understood. Direct interactions between plants and animals, such as herbivory, and indirect interactions, such as ecosystem engineering (via changes in the physical environment), may influence precipitation legacies by altering mechanisms of lagged effects. However, the role of direct and indirect plant–animal interactions in determining the strength of precipitation legacies remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigated effects of current growing season rainfall and precipitation legacies on grassland composition, and the influence of herbivory and ecosystem engineering interactions on these temporal dynamics. From 2009 to 2014, a period spanning high and low rainfall, we recorded plant cover in kangaroo rat exclosures and paired control plots that included both burrow and inter‐burrow areas. We used linear mixed effects modelling and analysis of community dissimilarities to evaluate plant composition responses to current and previous growing season rainfall and kangaroo rat herbivory (presence of seed foraging) and ecosystem engineering (burrowing). We found that community composition was more strongly affected by precipitation legacies than by current growing season rainfall. Greater precipitation in the previous growing season enhanced grass cover and reduced forb and legume cover. Kangaroo rat trophic and engineering interactions had counteracting effects on these legacies. While burrowing increased grass cover and thereby amplified the effects of previous growing season rainfall on community composition, legacies were suppressed by the presence of kangaroo rat foraging, which decreased grass cover. Further analysis revealed that kangaroo rat foraging and burrowing had conflicting effects on residual plant biomass prior to the growing season, suggesting that precipitation legacies were influenced by altered litter dynamics. Synthesis. Our study demonstrates that animals can impact the strength of precipitation legacies through direct and indirect interactions with the plant species that drive lag effects. The influence of multiple types of plant–animal interactions on precipitation legacies may be important to consider for ecosystem management and when generating predictions of community composition and productivity in future ecosystems.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Animals alter precipitation legacies: Trophic and ecosystem engineering effects on plant community temporal dynamics

et al. 2018

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“…Grazing could remove the remaining biomass which serves not only as a valuable nursing to seed banks (Kostrakiewicz‐Gieralt, ) especially in harsh environment (Cavieres et al , ) and also a niche as part of spatial heterogeneity. Grazing could also remove the propagules in the litter or the topsoil (Gurney et al , ; Yu et al , ), and the reproductive organs of parent plants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maintain Spatial Heterogeneity, Maintain Biodiversity—A Seed Bank Study in a Grazed Alpine Fen Meadow

Cao

et al. 2016

Land Degrad Dev

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Wetland degradation is a source of anxiety and is more severe in cold regions than other areas. The soil seed bank acts as a propagule source for revegetation to affiliate the restoration of degraded wetlands. However, the effects of this approach are controversial and depend on the traits of the seed bank and its interactions with the environment. The seed bank in an alpine fen meadow was studied to determine its exact role in revegetation. The surveyed shore of a Tibetan lake, Gahai Lake, was divided into three sites under different levels of grazing pressure. Each site was separated into six transects along a water‐depth gradient to collect soil cores to determine the pattern of biodiversity through a germination experiment in a greenhouse. After an analysis of heterogeneity‐related diversity, partitioning of 58 discovered species indicated that 39.5 could be contributed to beta‐diversity, which was mainly contributed to water depth. Overgrazing (0.607 sheep unit/acre, November—March) decreased seed bank diversity in many respects, especially through decreasing spatial heterogeneity and homogenizing biota. A lightly grazed, well‐protected site had not only the highest beta‐diversity and species abundance but also the highest inter‐site species turnover rate compared with other sites under moderate grazing intensity. Despite the lack of target species, the seed bank serves as (i) a species‐rich pool; (ii) an extant legacy seed source for sustaining heterogeneity and floristic diversity; and (iii) an ecological indicator, and its effect can be reinforced by appropriate grazing practices (multiple intensity) and hydrological modifications. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Does increasing the diversity of seeds broadcast for restoration alter post‐dispersal seed predation and its community‐determining effects?

Drescher,

Nolan

2023

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Native seeds broadcast for restoration are often consumed by predators before they can germinate. However, it is unclear how the composition of a seed mix affects seed predation. We excluded vertebrates from small plots seeded with native grassland plants to evaluate how seed diversity affects predation. There were two seeding treatments: a less diverse mix with a focal cohort of eight species on which we focused our analyses, and a more diverse mix that consisted of the focal cohort plus eight additional species. The focal cohort experienced greater predation when dispersed with the additional species, but this effect was unevenly distributed throughout the focal cohort. The species of the focal cohort that experienced the greatest increase in predation when in the high‐diversity treatment were also the ones favoured by predators when in the treatment without additional species. This suggests that when more species of palatable seed are available in a dispersed seed patch, predators may exert a stronger community‐filtering effect on such a seed patch. Increasing the number of species dispersed together for land stewardship efforts may increase predation of these seeds, which is a concern if their dispersal is intended to restore native plant diversity. We recommend strategies to minimize this potential detriment, such as staggering seed dispersal over time, for practitioners who seek to disperse a high diversity of seeds for native restoration.

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Restoration of Native Plants Is Reduced by Rodent-Caused Soil Disturbance and Seed Removal

Cited by 24 publications

References 38 publications

Animals alter precipitation legacies: Trophic and ecosystem engineering effects on plant community temporal dynamics

Animals alter precipitation legacies: Trophic and ecosystem engineering effects on plant community temporal dynamics

Maintain Spatial Heterogeneity, Maintain Biodiversity—A Seed Bank Study in a Grazed Alpine Fen Meadow

Does increasing the diversity of seeds broadcast for restoration alter post‐dispersal seed predation and its community‐determining effects?

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