Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on rodent damage in an Inner Mongolian steppe.

Yinzhan Liu,Renhui Miao,Dong Wang,Anqun Chen,Yuan Miao,Zhiman Zan,Gaigai Ma

doi:10.1002/ece3.3949

Yinzhan Liu, Renhui Miao + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3949

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Abstract

Rodent damage is a serious threat to sustainable management of grassland. The effects of nitrogen (N) deposition and grassland management on rodent damage have been scarcely studied. Here, we reported the effects of 2 years of N addition and mowing on burrow density and damage area of Citellus dauricus in a semiarid steppe in Inner Mongolia. N addition significantly aggravated, while mowing alleviated rodent damage in the grassland under study. Burrow density and damage area increased 2.8‐fold and 4.7‐fold, in N addition plots compared to the ambient N addition treatment, respectively. Conversely, mowing decreased burrow density and damage area by 75.9% and 14.5%, respectively, compared to no mowing plots. Observed changes in rodent damage were mainly due to variations in plant community cover, height, and aboveground net primary productivity. Our findings demonstrate that N addition and mowing can affect the rodent density and activity in grassland, suggesting that the effects of a changing atmospheric composition and land use on rodent damage must be considered in order to achieve better grassland management.

Highlights

Grassland rodents, including voles, zokors, pikas, marmots, rabbits, and ground squirrels, play an important role in affecting ecosystem structure and function (Davidson et al, 2010; Jiang, Wang, Li, Shi, & Yang, 2017; Olofsson, Tømmervik, & Callaghan, 2012; Zhang, Zhong, & Fan, 2003)
Burrow density reached 0.34 m−2 (i.e., 3,400 ha−1, Figure 3a) in the study site in 2014, a substantially higher value than that reported in previous studies (Liu, Wang, Wang, Han, et al, 2013; Liu, Wang, FIGURE 5 Correlation between burrow density and community cover (a), community height (b), and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) (c); correlation between damage area percentage and community cover (d), community height (e), and ANPP (f)
Our study showed that N addition increased both, burrow density and damage area

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Grassland rodents, including voles, zokors, pikas, marmots, rabbits, and ground squirrels, play an important role in affecting ecosystem structure and function (Davidson et al, 2010; Jiang, Wang, Li, Shi, & Yang, 2017; Olofsson, Tømmervik, & Callaghan, 2012; Zhang, Zhong, & Fan, 2003). Rodents aid in maintaining diversity in the grassland, because their extensive excavations promote soil nutrient cycling and seed dispersal (Davidson et al, 2010); besides, they are a food resource to other animals in higher trophic levels (Delibesmateos, Smith, Slobodchikoff, & Swenson, 2011; Zhang, Zhang, & Liu, 2003) Their abandoned burrows provide shelter to native birds and lizards (Delibesmateos et al, 2011; Zhang, Zhang, & Liu, 2003). Since the end of 20th century, the rodent-infested area in the grassland of China showed a continuous annual growth of 10%– 20% (Zhang, Zhong, & Fan, 2003), for an estimated at 40-50 × 106. With the interactive effect between N addition and mowing on plant growth in mind (Liu et al, 2017), we hypothesized that N and mowing would interactively affect rodent damage

| MATERIALS AND METHODS

Findings

| DISCUSSION

| CONCLUSION