Abstract
ABSTRACT Porcupines dig as deep as 25–30 cm to obtain corms, bulbs, tubers, and underground parts of leaves and stems that they consume as food. Eighteen species of geophytes and hemicryptophytes were found to be consumed by porcupines in the Negev Desert highlands. Another 10 species inhabit these diggings, but they are not known to be consumed. Porcupine diggings in the Negev Desert were found to be important microhabitats in which runoff water and organic matter accumulate, improving conditions for germination, seedling establishment, and plant growth. The dynamics of the “recovery” of porcupine diggings (the rate of their covering) depends on topography, geomorphology, vegetation, and on the plant species inhabiting them. It is possible to differentiate among 3 patterns of “recovery” occurring in various localities: (1) porcupine diggings covered as a result of flooding as soon as the next rain comes; (2) diggings which may remain uncovered for more than 20 years; (3) an intermediate group of diggings...
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