Response of alpine meadow communities to burrow density changes of plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Zheng, Guo; Li, Xiao Feng; Liu, Xing Yuan; Zhou, Xue Rong

doi:10.1016/j.chnaes.2011.12.002

Cited by 58 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Temperature is another critical factor that controls patterns in regional ecosystems and permafrost dynamics on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (Xie et al, 2015). The plateau pika substantially modifies aboveground landscape characteristics and belowground soil properties (Guo et al, 2012a(Guo et al, , 2012bSun et al, 2015), and, in turn, will affect radiation partitioning at the ground surface as well as the belowground conduction of soil heat (Xie et al, 2015). Previous studies have revealed higher soil temperatures near burrow systems than in nearby areas without pika burrows (Smith & Foggin, 1999), and a curvilinear increasing trend was observed with increasing pika burrow density (Liu et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microclimate response of soil to plateau pika's disturbance in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Liu

et al. 2018

European J Soil Science

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Summary The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is one of the main native soil faunas on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and plays a key role in the terrestrial ecosystem there. To understand how and why the soil microclimate changes after the plateau pika's disturbance, this study measured soil, vegetation, hydrologic and thermal properties and investigated soil moisture and soil temperature dynamics from 2014 to 2015 at the plot scale of four types of land surface: original grassland, new mound, old mound and bald patch. Our results showed that the average coefficients of surface runoff of original grassland, new mound, old mound and bald patch were 0.6, 3.0, 4.3 and 10.0%, respectively (P < 0.05). Evapotranspiration was largest for original grassland, especially under wet conditions, and was similar among the other three types of land surface during the growing season (P < 0.01). During varying precipitation events, the soil moisture content of new mound increased first, followed by old mound, original grassland and bald patch. Meanwhile, the increasing magnitude of soil moisture content had the same order. At the seasonal timescale, soil moisture content at 5‐cm depth was largest for old mound and smallest for bald patch (P < 0.01). The mean daily soil temperature at 5‐cm depth of new mound was approximately 0.8°C higher than that of old mound (P < 0.01) because of the smaller land surface reflectance of the former. The daily range of soil temperature at 5‐cm depth of original grassland and bald patch was about 2.7 and 4.7°C higher than the average value of new and old mounds, respectively, because of the larger soil thermal conductivity of the former two. A conceptual framework is suggested in this study to synthesize the evolution of soil microclimate under disturbance by the plateau pika. Overall, results indicated that new and old mounds accelerate soil hydrologic processes and have a better soil temperature buffer. Highlights Change in soil microclimate of different types of land surface under disturbance by the plateau pika. New and old mounds accelerate soil hydrologic processes and have a better soil temperature buffer. New and old mounds provide advantageous environments for plateau pika. Bald patch had the smallest soil moisture content and largest daily range of soil temperature.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microclimate response of soil to plateau pika's disturbance in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Liu

et al. 2018

European J Soil Science

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“…Although many quantitative traits, such as density, cover, or biomass, can be used to measure community dominance, the use of combinations of multiple variables may be more appropriate (Guo & Rundel, 1997). As the importance value encompasses cover, frequency, abundance, and, occasionally, diversity (Curtis & McIntosh, 1951; Gonmadje et al., 2011; Mori, Boom, de Carvalino, & dos Santos, 1983), it is expected to be a good indicator of dominance or apparency (Brandt, Zimmermann, Hensen, Mariscal Castro, & Rist, 2012; Dahdouh‐Guebas, Koedam, Satyanarayana, & Cannicci, 2011; Dahdouh‐Guebas, Verheyden, De Genst, Hettiarachchi, & Koedam, 2000; Dai, Zhang, Xu, Duffy, & Guo, 2017; Gonçalves, Albuquerque, & de Medeiros, 2016; Guèze et al., 2014; Guo, Li, Liu, & Zhou, 2012; Hu, Su, Li, Li, & Ke, 2015; Smith & Smith, 2001; Soldati, de Medeiros, Duque‐Brasil, Coelho, & Albuquerque, 2017; Thomas, Vandebroek, & Van Damme, 2009). Importance values can be applied to detect dominant species in different communities, especially along ecological gradients (Greig‐Smith, 1983; Henkel, Chambers, & Baker, 2016; Kent, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are dominant plant species more susceptible to leaf‐mining insects? A case study at Saihanwula Nature Reserve, China

Dai

Long

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Dominant species significantly affect interspecific relationships, community structure, and ecosystem function. In the field, dominant species are often identified by their high importance values. Selective foraging on dominant species is a common phenomenon in ecology. Our hypothesis is that dominant plant groups with high importance values are more susceptible to leaf‐mining insects at the regional level. Here, we used the Saihanwula National Nature Reserve as a case study to examine the presence–absence patterns of leaf‐mining insects on different plants in a forest‐grassland ecotone in Northeast China. We identified the following patterns: (1) After phylogenetic correction, plants with high importance values are more likely to host leafminers at the species, genus, or family level. (2) Other factors including phylogenetic isolation, life form, water ecotype, and phytogeographical type of plants have different influences on the relationship between plant dominance and leafminer presence. In summary, the importance value is a valid predictor of the presence of consumers, even when we consider the effects of plant phylogeny and other plant attributes. Dominant plant groups are large and susceptible targets of leaf‐mining insects. The consistent leaf‐mining distribution pattern across different countries, vegetation types, and plant taxa can be explained by the “species‐area relationship” or the “plant apparency hypothesis.”

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“…The higher active burrow entrances and mounds per plot meant the higher disturbance intensity of plateau pika and plateau zokor (Guo et al. ). We estimated by counting active pika burrow entrances and zokor mounds as follows: pika: Burrow entrances were plugged with sheets of newspaper, and three days later, the number of plugs cleared by pika was counted (Guo et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We estimated by counting active pika burrow entrances and zokor mounds as follows: pika: Burrow entrances were plugged with sheets of newspaper, and three days later, the number of plugs cleared by pika was counted (Guo et al. ); zokor: All mounds, both beside and covering entrances, and of varying age, were counted.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pika burrow and zokor mound density and their relationship with grazing management and sheep production in alpine meadow

et al. 2020

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Plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) and plateau zokors (Myospalax baileyi) occur naturally in the alpine meadow of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). Their feeding and burrowing activities affect plant composition and soil properties (e.g., soil carbon accumulation and soil nitrogen cycling), but research to study the complex interactions between small mammals, livestock, and habitat is currently lacking. We conducted a sheep grazing trial to determine the effect of grazing management on pika burrow and zokor mound density, and the relationships between sheep production and pika burrow and zokor mound density. The grazing management approaches were warm‐season rotational grazing at 24 and 48 sheep months (SM)/ha, cold‐season rotational grazing at 24 and 48 SM/ha, seasonal continuous grazing at 24 SM/ha, and whole‐year continuous grazing at 48 SM/ha. The results of this study suggested that warm‐season rotational grazing at low stocking rate did not significantly change both pika and zokor densities. Cold‐season rotational grazing at both high and low stocking rates and seasonal continuous grazing at low stocking rate led to an increase in zokor mound density, but not pika burrow density. Whole‐year continuous grazing at high stocking rate increased both pika and zokor densities. The influence of pika and zokor activities on sheep production was complex and differed between grazing management. Sheep liveweight gain peaked at moderate pika burrow and zokor mound density at low stocking rate under both warm‐ and cold‐season rotational grazing. The threshold values of pika density were about 110 and 70 burrows per hectare in warm and cold seasons, respectively. The threshold value of zokor density was about 400 mounds per hectare in the cold season. In contrast, under high stocking rate regardless of management approach, sheep liveweight gain declined significantly as both pika burrow and zokor mound density increased. This paper provides a theoretical understanding and experimental evidence for sustainable grazing management and restoration of degraded grassland by local herders and policymakers.

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Response of alpine meadow communities to burrow density changes of plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Cited by 58 publications

References 7 publications

Microclimate response of soil to plateau pika's disturbance in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Microclimate response of soil to plateau pika's disturbance in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Are dominant plant species more susceptible to leaf‐mining insects? A case study at Saihanwula Nature Reserve, China

Pika burrow and zokor mound density and their relationship with grazing management and sheep production in alpine meadow

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