Soil microbial and macroinvertebrate functional diversity in response to Zokor disturbance in Tibetan alpine meadow

Ye, Guohui; Chu, Bin; Tang, Zhuangsheng; Hu, Guixin; Bao, Daerhan; Hua, Rui; Pfeiffer, Martin; Hua, Limin; Niu, Yujie

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2023.107014

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Following the methodology used in previous studies (Reichman & Smith, 1985; Reichman & Jarvis, 1989), this study used fresh mounds to locate foraging tunnels. First, a transect with 3 km × 35 m size was established at each site in April, and then the number of fresh mounds was recorded in order to estimate the disturbance degree of plateau zokor (Wang et al, 2019; Ye et al, 2023). Second, 30 fresh mounds in the same grassland type were selected and labeled at each site.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of foraging tunnels created by plateau zokors on plant above‐ground biomass and species richness of graminoids and forbs in alpine grasslands

Yang,

Duan,

et al. 2023

Applied Vegetation Science

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QuestionForaging‐tunnel disturbances created by herbivorous mammals can influence the above‐ground plant biomass of grassland communities. The plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) was considered a focal animal for investigating the effect of foraging‐tunnel disturbances created by herbivorous mammals on the above‐ground biomass and species richness of graminoids and forbs. Here, we ask how foraging‐tunnel disturbances created by plateau zokors influences above‐ground plant biomass and species richness of graminoids and forbs in alpine grasslands.LocationThe study was conducted at three sites of alpine grasslands in the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, China.MethodsIn this study, all vascular plants were divided into graminoids and forbs, and 30 paired quadrats were randomly selected from each site. In total, 90 tunnel quadrats and 90 non‐tunnel quadrats were surveyed and sampled.ResultsThis study showed that foraging‐tunnel disturbances decreased the plant species richness of the grassland community and forbs by 16.5% and 17.7% respectively, whereas the response of graminoid species richness to foraging‐tunnel disturbance was different among the three sites, in which foraging‐tunnel disturbance decreased the graminoid species richness at Maqu and Xiahe sites and had no impact on the graminoid species richness at Tianzhu site. Regarding forbs, some legumes identified in the non‐tunnel quadrats were not observed in the tunnel quadrats. The foraging‐tunnel disturbances resulted in an above‐ground plant biomass decrease of 21.9% in the grassland community, 27.3% in forbs, and 17.2% in graminoids respectively. The percentage of graminoids in the above‐ground plant biomass increased from 50.4% in non‐tunnel quadrats to 55.5% in tunnel quadrats, a relative increase of 10.1% from the initial percentage.ConclusionsThese results indicate that the foraging‐tunnel disturbances seemed to improve the forage availability for livestock in tunnel quadrats due to a higher relative proportion of graminoids in the grassland plant community, despite a decrease in graminoid biomass. However, the tunnels not only decreased the above‐ground plant biomass and species richness of forbs, but also might have a negative impact on soil nitrogen input because of the absence of some legumes. The findings of this study suggest that reseeding some legumes is an effective approach to maintaining plant diversity and soil fertility, which can compensate for the negative effect of foraging‐tunnel disturbance on alpine grasslands.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of foraging tunnels created by plateau zokors on plant above‐ground biomass and species richness of graminoids and forbs in alpine grasslands

Yang,

Duan,

et al. 2023

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…Soil moisture has been found to increase significantly with increased zokor disturbance, while soil temperature decreases (Chu et al, 2020;Niu et al, 2019). Diversified microenvironment induced by zokor disturbance lead to an increase in soil macroinvertebrate richness (Ye et al 2023), fungal and prokaryotic diversity and richness, which in turn increases rates of organic matter turnover and nutrient cycling (Su et al, 2020).…”

Section: Engineering Effects Of Zokormentioning

confidence: 99%

The History and Development of Small Mammal Control on China’s Grasslands and Potential Implications for Conservation

Lambert¹,

Niu²,

Shi³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Grasslands make up 40% of China’s territory and are important ecological and economic areas. The native small mammals that inhabit these grasslands are often seen as pests competing with livestock and are subjected to population control. At the same time, several species are functionally important ecosystem engineers, and their removal can have far-reaching consequences for grassland health. We review the history and development of attempts to control populations of small burrowing mammals on China’s grasslands from ancient times to the present day, and the relevance of these programmes to grassland conservation. We describe the different methods of control in use today, and attempt to assess their prevalence and their possible effects on grassland ecosystems from a conservation perspective. Non-chemical methods are used, including manual trapping and biological control with native predators. Four rodenticides are currently registered for use on China’s grasslands. Most chemical control is carried out with botulinum toxins type- C and D. We identify 40 species, across two orders (Rodentia and Lagomorpha) and seven families, which are targets of pest control. Two of these species, Marmota sibirica and Ochotona koslowi, are classed as Endangered by the IUCN. Several others are important ecosystem engineers. Case studies on the potential ecological impacts of control programmes against two ecosystem engineers, the Chinese zokor (Eospalax fontanierii) and marmots (Marmota spp.), are described. Finally, we give recommendations for researchers on how to approach this issue.

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“…Consequently, an in-depth investigation of the structure, composition, and role of the soil microfoodweb in the soil ecosystem bears signi cant scienti c importance, contributing to a better understanding of underground ecological processes involving soil organisms, and unveiling insights into soil health, quality, and sustainability. Some studies have shown that zokor disturbance may increase the abundance of soil microorganisms and nematodes (Ye et al 2023, Su et al 2020; other studies have shown that zokor disturbance may reduce the abundance of soil microorganisms and nematodes (Hu et al 2017). The impact of zokor disturbance on soil microbial and nematode communities can vary signi cantly depending on soil type, climatic conditions, and vegetation type (Renčo, Gömöryová and Čerevková 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of zokor mounds on the stability of soil micro-foodweb in lightly disturbed alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Nian,

Li,

Yang

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The plateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi) is a subterranean rodent endemic to the alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Zokor mound building changes plant communities and soil conditions. In our study, the soil soil microorganisms and nematode communities, and soil physicochemical properties in the zokor mounds with dominant plant groups Potentilla anserina (PM), Leontopodium leontopodioides (LM) and naked new zokor mound (NM) were investigated in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Chao1 index and Shannon diversity index of bacteria and nematodes in PM were higher than those in other treatments. At the same time, the Chao1 index of fungi in PM was also higher. However, fungal Shannon diversity index, total nematode metabolic footprint, bacterivorous nematode metabolic footprint and omnivorous predatory nematode metabolic footprint were higher in NM. The metabolic footprint of plant-parasitic nematodes in LM was higher than that of other treatments. The functional metabolic footprint, enrichment index and structural index of soil nematodes all showed the order of NM > CK > PM > LM, indicating that the soil micro-foodweb structure of NM is relatively stable. Energy flow analysis showed that bacterial and fungal energy flow channels were dominant in PM, while plant energy flow channels had the highest proportion in LM, indicating that soil food web energy conversion and utilization efficiency in PM was higher. In addition, we found that the NM soil micro-foodweb was dominated by fungal decomposition, while PM was dominated by bacterial decomposition. Furthermore, bottom-up effects of nutrients in zokor mounds of different vegetation types determine the structure and activity of these pathways.

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Soil microbial and macroinvertebrate functional diversity in response to Zokor disturbance in Tibetan alpine meadow

Cited by 5 publications

References 57 publications

Effects of foraging tunnels created by plateau zokors on plant above‐ground biomass and species richness of graminoids and forbs in alpine grasslands

Effects of foraging tunnels created by plateau zokors on plant above‐ground biomass and species richness of graminoids and forbs in alpine grasslands

The History and Development of Small Mammal Control on China’s Grasslands and Potential Implications for Conservation

Effects of zokor mounds on the stability of soil micro-foodweb in lightly disturbed alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

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