Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Nests and Influence of Ant (Formica cunicularia Lat.) Activity on Soil Property and Seed Bank after Revegetation in the Tengger Desert

Abstract

In Shapotou, northeast of the Tengger Desert in China, Formica cunicularia Lat. proliferated after mobile sand dune stabilization by artificial revegetation. In the present paper, the anthill properties of F. cunicularia after sand stabilization were systematically investigated along a chronosequence. The soil properties and soil seed banks in the anthill and adjacent soils without anthills were also examined. The results showed that the revegetation age, landform, and their interactions significantly affected the anthill density, anthill coverage, and soil turnover capacity of F. cunicularia. The longer the dunes were stabilized, the more ant nests proliferated in the dunes. More nests were located in the hollow and windward slopes than in the dune top and leeward slopes. Soil organic matter, total and available N, P, and K, electrical conductivity, as well as soil water content were all significantly higher in the nests than in the adjacent soils without anthills. The soil seed bank in the anthill was much greater than in the adjacent soil for both moss- and algal-crusted soils. The current research suggested that the occurrence of F. cunicularia after mobile sand dune stabilization greatly influenced both soil properties and soil seed bank.