Effects of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway on the community structure of rodents in Qaidam desert region

Abstract

During July to August in 2007 and 2008, rodents were trapped along Qinghai-Tibet Railway in desert of Qaidam Basin. For accessing the ecological effects of the railway on the community structure of rodents, we organized four unique trapping areas, and three transects were set at different distances from the railway in each area. The results indicated: Dipus sagitta, Allactaga sibirica, Meriones meridianus and Phodopus roborovskii were common species in the study area and no invader was found. There were grazing-disturbed sampling areas on one side of the railway while on the other side this disturbance was insignificant. The result of Chi-square test showed that composition ratio of rodents was significantly different between paired sampling areas, which suggested grazing disturbance could be an important factor in interfering ecological impact of the railway itself. In non-grazing sampling areas, as the vegetation was basically uniform, there was no significant difference of community structure among three transects at 50, 200, 500 m away from the railway. In conclusion, the railway had no clear zone effect on rodent populations correspond to distance.