Pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius), vegetation, and soil nitrogen along a successional sere in east central Minnesota

Inouye, Richard S.; Huntly, Nancy J.; Tilman, David; Tester, John R.

doi:10.1007/bf00379264

Cited by 139 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Similar shifts in dominance have been observed in other grasslands (Foster and Stubbendieck, 1980;Tilman, 1983;Inouye et al, 1987a;Collins, 1989;Martinsen et al, 1990) and subalpine meadows (Sherrod et al, 2005). Greater survival and more rapid emergence of dicots following burial has been attributed to their strong clonal potential (e.g., Collins, 1989;Umbanhowar, 1995) and abundant storage of carbon in below-ground structures (Webber and May, 1977;Sherrod et al, 2005, see also Lezberg et al, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…Six species were more abundant on mounds, but all of these were also present in meadows. Thus, mounds in this system clearly do not serve as microsites for germination of fugitive or subordinate species as they do in other systems (Laycock, 1958;McDonough, 1974;Platt, 1975;Foster and Stubbendieck, 1980;Inouye et al, 1987a;Collins, 1989;Gibson, 1989;Hartway and Steinberg, 1997). In fact, the rarest taxa -those with one or two occurrences -were restricted to meadow plots.…”

mentioning

confidence: 85%

“…For example, in grasslands, mounds commonly support a greater abundance of annuals (Laycock, 1958;McDonough, 1974;Laycock and Richardson, 1975;Platt, 1975;Foster and Stubbendieck, 1980;Gibson, 1989), perennial forbs (Williams et al, 1986;Martinsen et al, 1990;Hartway and Steinberg, 1997), or both (Tilman, 1983;Spencer et al, 1985;Inouye et al, 1987a;Collins, 1989). Mounds can ensure persistence of fugitive or subordinate forbs in systems that are dominated by competitively superior perennial grasses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant Succession on Gopher Mounds in Western Cascade Meadows: Consequences for Species Diversity and Heterogeneity

Jones

Halpern

Niederer

2008

The American Midland Naturalist

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ABSTRACT. -Pocket gophers have the potential to alter the dynamics of grasslands by creating mounds that bury existing vegetation and locally reset succession. Gopher mounds may provide safe sites for less competitive species, potentially increasing both species diversity and vegetation heterogeneity (spatial variation in species composition). We compared species composition, diversity and heterogeneity among gopher mounds of different ages in three montane meadows in the Cascade Range of Oregon. Cover of graminoids and forbs increased with mound age, as did species richness. Contrary to many studies, we found no evidence that mounds provided safe sites for early successional species, despite their abundance in the soil seed bank, or that diversity peaked on intermediate-aged mounds. However, cover of forbs relative to that of graminoids was greater on mounds than in the adjacent meadow. Variation in species composition was also greater within and among mounds than in adjacent patches of undisturbed vegetation, suggesting that these small-scale disturbances increase heterogeneity within meadows.3

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

mentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant Succession on Gopher Mounds in Western Cascade Meadows: Consequences for Species Diversity and Heterogeneity

Jones

Halpern

Niederer

2008

The American Midland Naturalist

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“…Jones et al (1997) argued that the effect of ecosystem engineering on species richness at a scale that includes both engineered patches and patches unmodified by that particular ecosystem engineer-the landscape scalewould almost inevitably be positive due to an increase in habitat diversity. Several studies have suggested that ecosystem engineers increase landscape-scale species richness by creating new habitats and allowing species that would otherwise be excluded to persist (Collins and Uno 1983, Inouye et al 1987, Guo 1996, Ceballos et al 1999). For example, Wright et al (2002) estimated that by creating wetlands, beaver increase the number of herbaceous plant species in riparian zones by 33%.…”

Section: Predicting the Effect Of Ecosystem Engineering On Species Rimentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Effects of Ecosystem Engineers on Patch-Scale Species Richness From Primary Productivity

Wright

Jones

2004

Ecology

136

141

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Abstract. Ecosystem engineering-the physical modification of habitats by organisms-can create patches with altered species richness relative to adjacent, unmodified patches. The effect of ecosystem engineering on patch-scale species richness is likely to be difficult to predict from the identity of the engineer, the resources altered as a result of engineering, or the identities of the affected species. Here we develop a simple conceptual model that predicts the effects of ecosystem engineers on species richness based on how the habitat modifications caused by engineers affect primary productivity, assuming a humpshaped relationship between productivity and species richness. We review data from 35 studies that contained 60 comparisons of species richness on patches that had been modified by ecosystem engineers vs. unmodified patches. We found no general patterns in whether species richness at the patch scale was increased or decreased by ecosystem engineering. However, 14 of these studies also contained data on primary productivity on and off engineered patches, giving 30 cases to: (1) test whether the effects of ecosystem engineering on richness depend upon the productivity of the ecosystem, and (2) examine the effect of the engineer on productivity. Matching the predictions of the conceptual model, we found a significant negative relationship between productivity and the engineering effect on species richness when ecosystem engineers increased productivity and a weak positive relationship when engineers decreased productivity. We compare the conceptual model developed here to models predicting the effects of grazing and facilitation on species richness. These results, if supported by further studies, can contribute to our general understanding of ecosystem engineering and have important implications regarding the consequences of the loss or introduction of ecosystem engineers on species richness and ecosystem function across landscapes that vary in productivity.

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“…Furthermore they can also change the structure, organic matter and moisture contents of the soil (Mielke, 1977), and they can even reduce the proportion of available soil nitrogen (Inouye et al 1987). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of the Lesser Blind Mole Rat [ Nannospalax ( Superspecies Leucodon )] on the Species Composition and Diversity of a Loess Steppe in Hungary

et al. 2014

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Zimmermann et al. : The impact of the lesser blind mole rat [ Nannospalax (superspecies leucodon)] on the species composition and diversity of a loess steppe in +36-30-360-122; fax: + 36-28-360-110) 2 Szent István University, Institute of Botany and Plant Ecophysiology, H-2100 Gödöllő, Páter K. Str. 1., Hungary (phone: + 36-28-522-000; + 36-28-410-804) 3 *Corresponding author e-mail: zimmermann.zita@okologia.mta.hu Abstract. Our aim was to investigate the species richness and diversity of a loess grassland influenced by the digging of the lesser blind mole rat [Nannospalax (superspecies leucodon)] and to study the effect of this disturbance to diversity. The study was conducted in the Külső-gulya loess grassland (Körös-Maros National Park), which is unique in Hungary due to its excellent soil quality and the large spatial extent of natural loess meadow steppe. We recorded the cover of species in 50x50 cm plots. Altogether 12 plots were sampled on mounds of mole rat and 12 plots as a control in the area with no mounds. Differences in species richness, Shannondiversity, evenness and total cover between disturbed and control plots were tested by One-Way ANOVA. There were no significant difference neither in the number of species, nor in the Shannondiversity and evenness. There were differences in the species composition detected by PCO ordination. We can conclude that the presence and disturbance of the mole rat influence the composition of the grassland significantly but it does not cause a difference in the species richness, diversity and total cover. Our results suggest that this grassland has adapted to these natural disturbances.

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Pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius), vegetation, and soil nitrogen along a successional sere in east central Minnesota

Cited by 139 publications

References 16 publications

Plant Succession on Gopher Mounds in Western Cascade Meadows: Consequences for Species Diversity and Heterogeneity

Plant Succession on Gopher Mounds in Western Cascade Meadows: Consequences for Species Diversity and Heterogeneity

Predicting Effects of Ecosystem Engineers on Patch-Scale Species Richness From Primary Productivity

The Impact of the Lesser Blind Mole Rat [ Nannospalax ( Superspecies Leucodon )] on the Species Composition and Diversity of a Loess Steppe in Hungary

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