Effects of plateau pikas' foraging and burrowing activities on vegetation biomass and soil organic carbon of alpine grasslands
Effects of plateau pikas' foraging and burrowing activities on vegetation biomass and soil organic carbon of alpine grasslands
复制标题
高原鼠兔觅食和穴居活动对高寒草原植被生物量和土壤有机碳的影响
DOI：
10.1007/s11104-020-04489-1
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发表时间：
2020-04-08
期刊：
影响因子：
4.9
通讯作者：
Wang, Zhiwei
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Qin, Yu;Yi, Shuhua;Wang, Zhiwei
定量评估高原鼠兔（Ochotona curzoniae，以下简称鼠兔）的觅食和穴居对样地尺度植被生物量和土壤有机碳的影响。结合野外调查和航空摄影，对青藏高原82个草原点进行了样方尺度的鼠兔密度、植被生物量、土壤有机碳和全氮调查。然后，我们将这些变量升级到地块规模，并最终量化鼠兔的觅食和挖洞对地上生物量和土壤有机碳的影响。鼠兔分布广泛，密度范围为 40.29 至 71.40 ha−1。在此密度水平下，鼠兔消耗了大约 21% 至 40% 的植被总生物量，而它们的穴居活动导致的植被生物量减少不到 1%。然而，鼠兔的穴居会将 1 到 5 T ha−1 的土壤转移到地表，其中含有大约 20 到 70 kg ha−1 的土壤有机碳和 2 到 5 kg ha−1 的总氮。植被生物量容易受到鼠兔觅食的影响。鼠兔的穴居活动对土壤有机碳损失以及植被生长具有潜在影响。这些结果有利于提高我们对鼠兔对高寒草原调节作用的认识。无人机是进行广度图监测和研究鼠兔作用的可行且高效的工具。
Quantitatively assess the foraging and burrowing effects of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae, hereafter pikas) on vegetation biomass and soil organic carbon at plot scale. Combining field surveys and aerial photographing, we investigated pikas density, vegetation biomass, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen at quadrat-scale in 82 grassland sites of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We then upscaled these variables to plot-scale and eventually quantified pikas’ foraging and burrowing effects on aboveground biomass and soil organic carbon. Pikas have a wide distribution, with densities ranging from 40.29 to 71.40 ha−1. Under this density level, pikas consume approximate 21% to 40% of the total vegetation biomass, while their burrowing activity causes less than 1% vegetation biomass reduction. However, pikas burrowing transfers 1 to 5 T ha−1 of soil to the ground surface, which contains approximate 20 to 70 kg ha−1 of soil organic carbon and 2 to 5 kg ha−1 of total nitrogen. Vegetation biomass is susceptible to the foraging influence of pikas. Pikas burrowing activity has a potential impact on soil organic carbon loss and thus vegetation growth. These results are conducive to improve our understanding of the effects of pikas on regulating alpine grasslands. Unmanned aerial vehicle is a feasible and efficient tool to perform the monitoring extensiveness plots and study the role of pikas.