Effect of the presence of plateau pikas on the ecosystem services of alpine meadows

[摘要] The activity of small mammalian herbivores influences grassland ecosystemservices in arid and semi-arid regions. Plateau pika ( Ochotona curzoniae ) was considered to be afocal organism to investigate the effect of small mammalian herbivores onmeadow ecosystem services in alpine regions. In this study, a home-rangescale was used to measure the forage available to livestock, waterconservation, carbon sequestration and soil nutrient maintenance (totalnitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in the topsoil layer, and a quadratscale was used to assess the biodiversity conservation of alpine meadows.This study showed that the forage available to livestock and waterconservation was 19 % and 16 % lower in the presence of plateau pikasthan in their absence, and biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration,soil nitrogen and phosphorus maintenance was 15 %, 29 %, 10 % and8.9 % higher in the presence of plateau pikas than in their absence. Incontrast, it had no impact on soil potassium maintenance of meadowecosystems in alpine regions. The forage available to livestock,biodiversity conservation and soil nutrient maintenance of meadowecosystems in alpine regions had maximum values as the disturbance intensityof plateau pikas increased; the water conservation tended to decreaselinearly with the increasing disturbance intensity of plateau pikas. Theseresults present a pattern of plateau pikas influencing the ecosystemservices of meadow ecosystems in alpine regions, enriching our understandingof the small mammalian herbivores in relation to grassland ecosystemservice.

[学科分类] 大气科学